Reaction to the first-ever criminal conviction of a former U.S. President Thursday underscores the growing chasm separating the two major political parties.
Shortly after the jury’s verdict was announced in Manhattan Criminal Court, First Congressional District Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) called on N.Y. Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, to pardon former President Donald Trump and “pre-emptively” commute any sentence.
In a message posted to his personal account on the social media platform X, LaLota said Hochul’s failure to pardon Trump and commute any sentence he may receive would “allow America to become a banana republic.”
Hochul did not respond to LaLota’s request in a statement she issued later Thursday evening.
“Today’s verdict reaffirms that no one is above the law,” Hochul said in the statement.
The two Democrats currently vying for their party’s nomination to challenge the freshman congressman in the November General Election promptly answered LaLota.
“Shame on you, Nick LaLota!” Democratic candidate Nancy Goroff of Stony Brook responded on X. “Trump was convicted on all charges by a jury of his peers, in accordance with our justice system. Your statement shows once again that you are unfit for public office.”
Democratic candidate John Avlon of Sag Harbor joined the fray shortly thereafter. “Hey Nick: a Banana Republic is when you want to pardon a criminal because they’re from your political party,” Avlon wrote on X.
“A Banana Republic is when a candidate promises to pardon people who attacked the US Capitol on his behalf. The fact that a former president was convicted by a jury of his peers is a self-inflicted tragedy,” Avlon said in the post.
He called the conviction “a triumph for the rule of law.”
Avlon also issued a statement to the press Thursday afternoon following the verdict.
“Nick LaLota endorsed and is supporting a convicted criminal for President who paid hush money to a porn star to cover up their affair while his wife was pregnant. That’s not the ‘law and order’ Washington Republicans like Nick LaLota like to talk and Tweet about. It’s the opposite of character and family values. It’s hypocritical hyper partisan politics,” Avlon said. “Suffolk County deserves a congressman who doesn’t check their conscience and common sense at the door when a member of their party is convicted of a crime. That’s equal justice under law.”
LaLota was not alone among New York GOP House candidates in backing Trump after the verdict.
Michael LiPetri, the Republican candidate in the Third Congressional District, who is challenging Democrat Tom Suozzi, called the verdict “Ridiculous!” and wrote on X, “So, what’s next? The appeal and then a Republican victory in November!”
Alison Esposito, the Republican Party’s candidate for N.Y. lieutenant governor and Lee Zeldin’s running mate in 2022, issued a statement calling the verdict was “ludicrous” and the prosecution “a political trial” with a “predetermined outcome” that is “reminiscent of third world countries.” Esposito is running against incumbent Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan in New York’s 18th Congressional District in the Hudson Valley.
Neither Suozzi nor Ryan posted any statements on social media or on their campaign websites about the outcome of the trial.
Former Republican candidate for governor of New York, Lee Zeldin, who served three terms in the First Congressional District seat now held by LaLota, posted on X last night, “The world witnessed today the conclusion of one of the most un-American political persecutions that will ever take place in our country. This case will be successfully appealed, but for Biden, Bragg and the Democrats, this was never about the merits.”
In a separate post, Zeldin called the prosecution a “political persecution, designed to interfere with the 2024 election” and “a disgusting abuse and weaponization of the criminal justice system.”
He also posted that he had “Just secured a $800k donation from someone for President Trump’s Joint Fundraising Committee. Never experienced a massive ask that easy.”
The Trump campaign, which started soliciting contributions decrying the verdict immediately after it was announced, issued a statement saying it had raised nearly $35 million in the hours after the verdict.
Suffolk County GOP Chairman Jesse Garcia issued a statement Thursday calling the trial and verdict a “travesty” and “a disgusting distortion of justice.”
“Today the liberal left has made it clear that they are desperate to manipulate this election by exploiting and weaponizing the criminal justice system to help their failed President Joe Biden,” Garcia said.
Suffolk County Democratic Committee Chairman Rich Schaffer also issued a statement on X Thursday: “Today, justice was served. No one is above the law. Donald Trump is a convicted felon.”
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