'No One Is Above the Law': NC Officials Respond to Trump Indictment

Former President Donald Trump in 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

By Michael McElroy

March 31, 2023

The response was swift, but offered few surprises from either party.

A grand jury in Manhattan voted to indict former president Donald Trump on Thursday on charges that just before the 2016 presidential elections, he illegally helped arrange $130,000 in “hush money” to a porn star who says they had an affair.

While many legal observers expected an indictment, the reaction from political leaders on the right and the left has been strong.

There were, however, few surprises among the responses from North Carolina’s elected officials.

Like many GOP officials, NC’s Republicans said the charges were politically motivated and suggested that the New York prosecutor who presented evidence to the grand jury was soft on crime elsewhere. (Both of these talking points lack evidence and clash with how the grand jury process actually works.)

Responses from NC Democrats also hit similar lines, mostly that no one was above the law and that the process should be allowed to bear out without outside political interference.

Here is an incomplete round up of what NC’s national officials have said. So far, anyway, Republican state officials like NC Senate leader Phil Berger and NC House Speaker Tim Moore have stayed out of it.

Democrats:

Below is my statement on the indictment of former President Trump.

No one, not even a President, is above the law. pic.twitter.com/OmRvEdGOAy
— Rep. Alma Adams (@RepAdams) March 30, 2023

No one is above the law.

While we wait for additional details, it's critical that the Manhattan DA can continue his investigation free from political interference. https://t.co/Esnc9NNJwi
— Congresswoman Deborah Ross (@RepDeborahRoss) March 31, 2023

Republicans

This indictment doesn't pass the smell test. The Department of Justice already looked into the facts and decided there was no case to be made against President Trump. This is the same District Attorney who is notorious for letting violent criminals off the hook in Manhattan, but…
— Senator Thom Tillis (@SenThomTillis) March 30, 2023

The Manhattan DA’s partisan prosecution of President Trump is a disgrace.

NYC has a real problem with violent crime. Instead of spending so much time targeting his political enemies, Alvin Bragg should focus on doing his job to keep the people of NYC safe.
— Senator Ted Budd (@SenTedBuddNC) March 30, 2023

It says a lot about a justice system that is more eager to indictment an already investigated political candidate than they are the violent criminals who are terrorizing their citizens.
— Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. (@RepGregMurphy) March 31, 2023

Extreme partisan Democrats are weaponizing our judicial system against President Donald Trump in an unprecedented abuse of power. History will remember this as a dark day. https://t.co/DabOWlGqSl
— Rep. Richard Hudson (@RepRichHudson) March 30, 2023

This indictment is the most recent occurrence in what has become a disturbing pattern of weaponizing our government and legal institutions for political purposes.
— David Rouzer (@RepDavidRouzer) March 30, 2023

Author

Michael McElroy

Michael McElroy is Cardinal & Pine's political correspondent. He is an adjunct instructor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Hussman School of Journalism and Media, and a former editor at The New York Times.

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