"Nobody is above the law": Minnesota officials reflect on Trump indictment, arraignment
MINNEAPOLIS -- On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump entered not guilty pleas on 34 criminal counts, including felony charges of falsifying business records, in a Manhattan courtroom. In doing so, he became the first former president in U.S. history to face criminal prosecution.
The arraignment capped a day of spectacle surrounding Trump's surrender at Manhattan Criminal Court. His Secret Service motorcade left Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan for the courthouse shortly after 1 p.m., cutting through New York traffic with a police escort as spectators looked on.
A number of Minnesota politicians, agencies and officials issued statements as Trump entered his not guilty pleas, though as of yet the response has been mostly muted.
WCCO's Esme Murphy says a lot of Republicans really don't want to talk about Trump. She reached out to six prominent Republicans for comment. Among them, Minnesota Rep. Pat Garofalo responded; he has been an outspoken critic of the former president.
"Like many Americans who have concerns about former President Trump's behavior, it's a mixed bag. On the one hand we are kind of tired of seeing him in our faces in the media every day. On the other hand, we have deep concerns about this unprecedented action of what appears to be a politically-motivated indictment," Garofalo said.
Murphy also spoke with Republican analyst and former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch.
"I think its hard to watch unless you are on the extreme left -- 'Yes, good, get him' -- or if you are on the extreme Trump, you know, where this is all a travesty. It makes us kind of wonder how did we get here," she said.
Rep. Tom Emmer is the third highest-ranking Republican the U.S. House, and has been a strong Trump supporter.
"Today is a historic low for our nation. The Democrat Party has proven there is nothing they won't do to hold onto power even if it means weaponizing our justice system," he tweeted.
Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar updated her Instagram story with a link to the news report and her own caption, calling it "a Ramadan Miracle."
"The indictment and arraignment of any former President marks a sad day for our country. However, today's proceedings also serve as an important reminder that nobody is above the law in America, and that everybody has the right to a fair trial," DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin said. "District Attorney Bragg will have the opportunity to prove Donald Trump's guilt, just as Trump will have the opportunity to defend his innocence. I trust our justice system to set politics aside and reach a fair and just verdict in this case."
Meanwhile, former Sen. Al Franken tweeted a punchline calling back to the calls of "Lock her up!" that have frequently been chanted at Trump rallies, in reference to 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Trump’s first words: “Don’t lock me up!”
— Al Franken (@alfranken) April 4, 2023
Abou Amara, a DFL political analyst and attorney, read the indictment and had this to say: "This is a long-running conspiracy. The government believes that Donald Trump, as early as 2015, used the Trump organization to basically propel himself to the presidency by taking bad stories and buying them, catch-and-kill, those types of things."
Trump has maintained his innocence and denounced the Manhattan district attorney's probe as a politically motivated "witch hunt."
The former president was released and returned home to Florida, where he delivered remarks to supporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Tuesday evening.