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Conservatives and supporters of the MAGA movement expressed anger this week regarding $17 million worth of "hush payments" made by Congress in 2017, following the verdict reached in former President Donald Trump's criminal case.
On Thursday, a jury in New York City reached a verdict in Trump's criminal trial for alleged hush money payments made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016. The jury found the former president guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in relation to the payments.
Trump will be sentenced on July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention, at which he is expected to be announced as the party's candidate for the 2024 presidential election, likely then facing off against President Joe Biden in November. He has already announced plans to appeal the verdict.
"Congressmen paid $17 million of TAXPAYER MONEY for undisclosed hush payments to cover up sexual harassment claims," Kentucky Republican Representative Thomas Massie said in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "Meanwhile candidate Trump allegedly used HIS MONEY for a $130,000 hush payment and he's convicted of 34 felonies for not disclosing."
The post by Massie included a report from CNN from 2017 citing $17 million in payments from Congress' Office of Compliance to victims of sexual harassment by elected officials. According to the CNN report, the data was released in 2017 and the money paid to victims dated to 1997. The $17 million payments included all settlements made by the Office of Compliance, including to victims of sexual harassment and discrimination.
The report from CNN also noted that the payments came from taxpayer dollars and not from an individual lawmaker.
A number of other MAGA supporters and Trump followers criticized the 2017 CNN report after the verdict was announced Thursday.
"This entire list needs to be public!!!" Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote on X.
Tennessee Republican Representative Tim Burchett said: "How can Trump be convicted of this when Congress has paid over $17 Million in tax payer funded hush money?"
Will Tanner, founder of the American Tribune, wrote: "As they lock Trump up in jail for paying his lawyer a retainer, remember that Congress had a multi-million dollar slush fund from which is paid out 'hush money' to those it sexually assaulted and sexually harassed. And, unlike with Trump's legal behavior there were ZERO repercussions for Congress for either the sexual assault or using taxpayer dollars to make hush money payments."
Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson and the Office of Compliance via email for comment.
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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