FLORIDA, USA — The U.S. Department of Justice indicted former president Donald Trump for his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
A 45-page indictment from Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith outlined Trump's efforts, which it says included orchestrating a plan to send fake election certificates to Congress signed by fraudulent electors, pressuring state legislators to invalidate votes and pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence to illegally overturn Biden's victory at the ceremonial counting and certifying of ballots — all while knowing he had lost the presidential election and that his claims of widespread voter fraud were false.
In the aftermath of Trump's indictment, some GOP politicians came to his defense, and while few commented on the merits of the indictment, many chose to respond by accusing the Biden administration of weaponizing the Justice Department and accusing it of covering up alleged crimes committed by Hunter Biden.
Gov. Ron DeSantis responded on social media by claiming that Trump would never get a fair trial in Washington, D.C.
"As President, I will end the weaponization of government, replace the FBI Director, and ensure a single standard of justice for all Americans," DeSantis said. "While I’ve seen reports, I have not read the indictment. I do, though, believe we need to enact reforms so that Americans have the right to remove cases from Washington, DC to their home districts."
Florida Sen. Rick Scott's statement also included an accusation of weaponizing the Justice Department as well as a deflection referring to the House GOP's investigation of the Biden family businesses.
Scott's claim referred to a testimony given Monday, July 31, by Hunter Biden's former business associate Devon Archer. In a closed-door interview with the Republican-led House Oversight Committee, Archer said that Hunter often put his famous father on speakerphone to impress clients and business associates, but that the two never spoke about any business dealings, nor was Joe Biden ever directly involved in their business's financial dealings.
Regardless, many Republican representatives from Florida issued statements about Trump's indictment similar to Scott's with references to a "weaponized DOJ" or the "Biden crime family."
Notably, the federal indictment begins with an acknowledgment of Trump's rights under the First Amendment.
"The Defendant had a right, like every American, to speak publicly about the election and even to claim, falsely, that there had been outcome-determinative fraud during the election and that he won. He was also entitled to formally challenge the results of the election through lawful and appropriate means, such as by seeking recounts or audits of the popular vote in states or filing lawsuits challenging ballots and procedures. Indeed, in many cases, the Defendant did pursue these methods of contesting the election results. His efforts to change the outcome in any state through recounts, audits, or legal challenges were uniformly unsuccessful," the indictment said.
The indictment also suggests that Trump and his co-conspirators "attempted to use the power and authority of the Justice Department" to conduct "sham election crime investigations," send false claims of election fraud to targeted states, and to validate the fraudulent electors.
For their part, Florida Democrats wrote in support of the continuing investigation, with some furthering the notion that no person is above the law.
Trump is expected to appear in federal court at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 3, in Washington, D.C.