Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell Remains Silent on Trump's Indictment as House Republicans Condemn Charges

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has remained silent about former President Donald Trump’s indictment this week, even as several House Republicans have condemned the charges as politically motivated.

Following Trump’s indictment on Thursday, neither McConnell nor Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, have issued public statements on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal case against the former president and leading Republican 2024 candidate.

The relationship between McConnell and Trump has been strained, with McConnell stating in December that Trump is “diminished” and blaming the former president for the GOP’s disappointing performance in the 2022 midterm elections.

Trump, who holds a grudge against the Senate GOP leader for refusing to support his claims that the 2020 election was stolen, called McConnell a “tremendous liability for the Republican Party” in an interview with Fox News.

In contrast to McConnell’s silence, Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., criticized Bragg after news of the indictment broke, stating that Bragg “has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., called the indictment a “sham” and accused “extremist Democrats” of “weaponizing government to attack their political opponents.”

The criminal charges against Trump follow a years-long investigation into payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal in 2016, allegedly to keep them quiet about their previous affairs with Trump while he was running for president.

Trump has denied the affairs and any wrongdoing. Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York decided not to charge Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019. The Federal Election Commission also dropped its investigation into the matter in 2021.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and other Republicans sent a letter to Bragg last week, demanding that he turn over documents related to his Trump investigation and testify before Congress.

They asserted that the DA’s investigation must be politically motivated. Bragg’s office responded on Friday, accusing the House lawmakers of “unlawful political interference” in an ongoing criminal case.

While McConnell and Thune have remained silent, other Senate GOP leaders have spoken out against the indictment.

Pathetic. “McConnell silent on Trump’s indictment as House GOP leaders slam ‘weaponized’ justice system” https://t.co/Jhwd3PajD5

— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) March 31, 2023

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wy., the No. 3 Republican, described it as a “politically motivated prosecution by a far-left activist.”

Republican Policy Committee Chairman Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., each issued similar statements.

Trump is expected to be arraigned in a Manhattan court on Tuesday, according to a law enforcement source who spoke with Fox News.

Sources familiar with the case say Trump will surrender himself and be taken into custody without handcuffs, with detectives from Bragg’s office handling the arrest.

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