Donald Trump found guilty of 34 felony counts. Idaho Gov. Little doubles down on support
Idaho political leaders voiced support for former President Donald Trump almost immediately after the leading Republican candidate for the White House was found guilty of crimes Thursday, becoming the first U.S. president in history to be convicted of a crime.
Trump was convicted by a Manhattan jury Thursday afternoon on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in connection with his efforts to become president in 2016. During that year’s presidential campaign, Trump orchestrated a $130,000 payment to a porn star with whom he had an alleged affair in 2006 to prevent her story from becoming public.
GOP political leaders in Idaho, including Gov. Brad Little, were quick to dismiss the legal conviction and cast doubt on the New York judicial system, joining a chorus of national Republicans. Trump has used the trial to fundraise for his presidential campaign and attempted to cast the proceedings as the most recent example of efforts to persecute him.
“The American people will deliver the only verdict that matters in November,” Little wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “#TRUMP2024.”
Idaho’s Republican congressional delegates also weighed in.
U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson on X said “Democrats have weaponized our judicial system,” attacked the attorney who prosecuted the case and without evidence called it an “absurd political trial.” Sen. Mike Crapo similarly called the case “politically motivated” on X and said it could lead to prosecutions based on “an individual’s mere existence.”
Sen. Jim Risch suggested the verdict was politically motivated and called it a “mock trial” that “made no attempt at even the appearance of fairness.”
“This is what we expect from third world countries,” Risch said. “A government, like New York, that conducts itself in such a fashion deserves to be feared, not cherished by its people.”
The Idaho Freedom Caucus, a far-right faction of Republican state legislators, falsely said President Joe Biden was involved in the prosecution in a news release. The Department of Justice was not involved in prosecuting the New York state case, which began years before Biden entered office.
The hush money payments to adult-film actor Stormy Daniels were made by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer, who was later reimbursed for the disbursements through invoices that were falsely labeled as legal services. Some of the reimbursement checks were signed after Trump had moved into the White House.
Cohen, who testified at trial, was a key witness for the prosecution. Trump denies the sexual encounter, which Daniels described under oath in the New York courthouse.
Trump could face up to four years in prison for his crimes, in a case that has tested the durability of the country’s political and judicial systems. He faces dozens more charges in federal criminal proceedings, including more serious charges stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The New York verdict, which the former president is expected to appeal, is the only one expected before Election Day, in part because of trial delays the election interference case faces before the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July.
Boise lawyer Terri Pickens, a Democratic candidate for Idaho governor, blasted Little on Thursday for his comments on the conviction and said he had betrayed “his own oaths to defend the rule of law.”
“Our governor is saying the rule of law doesn’t matter anymore,” she said in a news release. “For years, Little and other Republicans have closed their eyes and covered their ears to all the shady, nasty and cruel behavior surrounding Mr. Trump. But they always said he was innocent until proven guilty. They don’t have that excuse anymore.”
“You simply can’t claim that jury convictions do not matter and be trusted as Idaho’s top executive officer in charge of implementing those same laws and defending Idaho’s constitution,” she added.
This story was originally published May 30, 2024 at 7:36 PM.
