🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur.
Former Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger criticized fellow Republicans this week for their responses to the verdict reached in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York.
"Watching all these GOP politicians disparage American citizens and the jury system is disgusting. They are NOT the party of law and order," Kinzinger, a vocal Trump critic who represented Illinois until 2023, wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "They are authoritarian weaklings scared of a tiny hands felon."
In a video posted to X, Kinzinger said, "Today, the jury, which probably had Trump supporters on it, did its American duty, and the Republicans got their marching orders, which is attack the system, attack the jury, attack American citizens, attack the judge."
"Everything but attack Donald Trump, convicted felon for his felonies. That's what's at stake in November," Kinzinger added.
Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.
On Thursday, a jury in Manhattan reached a verdict in Trump's criminal trial, finding the former president guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to hush money paid to former adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, will be sentenced on July 11 and faces potential prison time. Following the verdict, Trump criticized the case and New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan while also saying that he plans to appeal the decision.
Many Republican lawmakers criticized the judicial system in New York City and the trial overall in the wake of Trump's conviction.
"This verdict is the corrupt result of a corrupt trial, a corrupt judge, and a corrupt DA. We will stand with President Trump now more than ever to save the country," Florida Representative Matt Gaetz wrote in a post on X.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said, "The fix is in. They would love to replace him or demand him take Nikki Haley as VP or they will tell him he has to rot in jail."
Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie said, "Today's conviction was a weaponization of the judicial system but there is more to come. Alvin Bragg is funded by the state of New York, but Jack Smith is funded by the U.S. Congress led in the House by Mike Johnson, who refuses to defund the next sham conviction of Trump."
Ohio Senator J.D. Vance said the verdict "is a disgrace to the rule of law and our Constitution."
"Dems invented a felony to 'get Trump,' with the help of a Soros funded prosecutor and a Biden donor Judge, who rigged the entire case to get this outcome. This isn't justice, it's election interference," Vance wrote.
While Kinzinger criticized many Republicans for their response, he applauded former Maryland governor and Trump critic Larry Hogan for his reaction to the verdict.
"Regardless of the result, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process. At this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders—regardless of party—must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship. We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law," Hogan said on X.
Responding to Hogan, Kinzinger said, "By far the best Republican response i have seen. Respect for the system we all rely on, what a noble concept."
fairness meter
About the writer
Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more