Nationwide — Former President, and current GOP candidate for President, Donald Trump, has been indicted as a result of a special counsel investigation, accusing the former president in an indictment that has as of yet not been unsealed.
There were a number of reactions to this news. In a tweet, Senator Grassley commented on Trump being indicted on the same day House Republicans had to view a redacted document that contains allegations against President Biden fuels the belief that there are two standards of justice.
Second district Congresswoman Ashley Hinson says the federal indictment of former President Trump is shameful. Hinson, a Republican from Marion, says House Republicans will hold the Department of Justice accountable.
Hinson says the Justice Department has failed to comply with House Republicans demands to see a document that accuses Biden of wrongdoing while he was vice president. The House Oversight Committee was allowed to see the document, with some of it redacted or crossed out, Thursday.
The three other Iowa Republicans who serve in the U.S. House have not commented on the grand jury’s indictment against Trump. Governor Kim Reynolds issued a statement on Twitter Friday morning. Reynolds says the indictment is a sham and the Biden Administration is weaponizing the justice system.
Some of the GOP presidential candidates who’ve been campaigning in Iowa have weighed in, too.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis says the country is seeing an uneven application of the law based on political affiliation and DeSantis asks why Hillary Clinton or Hunter Biden haven’t faced charges. GOP candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says if he’s elected president, he’d pardon Trump. Perry Johnson, another Republican running for president, is calling on President Biden to pardon Trump now. Former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson was the only candidate in the race to call on Trump to end his presidential campaign. Hutchinson says Trump’s actions should not be allowed to define the GOP or the country.
Former Vice President Mike Pence made comments in Iowa before Trump announced he’d been indicted, saying such a move would be extraordinarily divisive and would send the wrong message to the world. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott says the 2024 election should be decided by the voters rather than a Justice Department Scott says has been weaponized. Trump, when he campaigned in Iowa last week, said an indictment would be election interference.
