Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), a sharp Trump critic, voiced criticism of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of the former president on Tuesday, calling it an “overreach” that is political in nature.
“I believe President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office,” Romney said in a statement. “Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda.”
He added: “No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law. The prosecutor’s overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system.”
Romney is no friend to Trump. He’s the only GOP senator who voted to convict Trump in both of his Senate impeachment trials, and Romney has repeatedly spoken out about Trump’s corrosive influence within the party.
Trump was arraigned Tuesday in a New York City courtroom, where he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges that he falsified business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star ahead of the 2016 presidential election ― a payoff that prosecutors said was intended to sway the vote.
In a press conference following Trump’s dramatic arraignment, Bragg said his office was taking the necessary steps to ensure criminal conduct is not normalized.
“At its core, this case today is one with allegations like so many of our white-collar cases,” Bragg said. “Allegations that someone lied, again and again, to protect their interests and evade the laws to which we are all held accountable.”
Republicans have been broadly skeptical of the case, however.
“It’s clear that this is a politically-motivated prosecution against President Trump,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), a Senate Judiciary Committee member, said in a statement.
“Politics should never tip the scales of justice, and Congress has every right to demand answers and accountability from the Manhattan D.A.’s office, especially as this directly relates to federal law.”
Romney said that the charges against Trump would be “duly considered and the outcome decided by a jury with an obligation to fulfill its responsibility with the utmost care and impartiality.”
“The American voters will ultimately render their own judgment on the former President’s political future,” he added.