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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell remained silent on the arrest of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, opting to instead release a statement on Finland's admission to NATO.
Trump surrendered to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office on Tuesday afternoon after a grand jury voted last week voted to indict him. The decision came after a long-term investigation by the office and District Attorney Alvin Bragg into Trump's alleged attempts to conceal hush money payments made on his behalf in 2016 to keep adult film star Stormy Daniels quiet about an affair the two had in 2006.
Trump has denied that an affair ever took place and has maintained his innocence. It is the first such indictment ever leveled against a former president in United States history.
While many elected Republicans, like Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, have come to Trump's defense in the wake of the indictment, one of the most powerful among them has remained notably quiet: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The Kentucky Republican has yet to officially comment on Trump's impending arrest and, on Tuesday, opted instead to focus on the recent admission of Finland into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
"The Republic of Finland's accession into NATO is outstanding news that further strengthens what is already the most successful alliance in the history of the human race," McConnell's official statement read. "I am happy to welcome Finland to this trans-Atlantic Alliance and I congratulate the Finnish people, President Niinistö, and NATO Secretary General [Jens] Stoltenberg on this historic occasion."
Finland's admission to NATO was spurred forward by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the destructive conflict that has raged there since then, heightening the fear of neighboring nations in Europe. By joining the organization, Finland strengthens its alliances with Western countries like the U.S. and the United Kingdom, in direct opposition to Russia's stated political goals.
As Finland is located directly to the west of Russia, the move has also roughly doubled the amount of border that the latter country shares with NATO member nations.
As noted by journalist Igor Bobic on Twitter, almost no Senate Republicans have spoken up about Trump's indictment since the news of it broke. McConnell and Trump's relationship has notably soured since the latter left office in 2021, with the Senate Minority Leader recently blaming the former president's influence for the Republican Party's historically disappointing performance in the 2022 midterm elections.
Newsweek reached out to McConnell's communications team via email for comment.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more