Staff Reports
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy condemned the recent charges brought against former President Donald Trump, accusing President Biden of using the government as a weapon to target his top political adversary. McCarthy made these remarks during a visit to a 5G hardware manufacturing facility in Syracuse, New York on Thursday, just before Trump’s arrest in Georgia over allegations related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
“Why are they going after him just because they disagree with him? Are they scared of him? Is it because he’s leading in the polls? And now they’re indicting him?” exclaimed McCarthy, a Republican from California, expressing his disbelief.
In a shocking twist, Trump now faces a whopping total of four indictments with an astonishing 91 criminal counts. Two of these indictments were issued by special counsel Jack Smith, a Biden-appointed figure in the Justice Department. One of the charges is centered around whether Trump unlawfully mishandled classified government documents, with the former president being hit with an alarming 40 criminal charges, including 32 counts of willful retention of national defense information. The other indictment relates to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his connection to the January 6, 2021, Capitol protest. In that case, the former president is facing four felony charges.
“What really bothers me is the blatant use of political organizations and one’s governmental power to go after him,” McCarthy voiced his concerns. Additionally, he raised questions about why Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams have never faced indictments for their claims surrounding elections. Clinton famously dubbed Trump an illegitimate president and alleged Russian collusion as the reason for her defeat in the 2016 election, despite an investigation disproving this claim. Abrams, on the other hand, insisted that voter suppression was the cause of her losses in the Georgia governor races in both 2018 and 2022.
During Congress’ summer break, McCarthy has been contemplating the possibility of initiating an impeachment inquiry into Biden, a move he could make as early as September when lawmakers reconvene. McCarthy has been pressuring the Biden administration to release documents that would allegedly prove the president’s innocence regarding his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings and any potential misconduct related to Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Notably, McCarthy voted against the infrastructure bill that benefited JMA Wireless, a company he visited during his Syracuse tour, and which received provisions from Biden’s legislation. The president took to social media to respond to McCarthy’s criticism, not addressing his comments about the Justice Department, but rather highlighting the speaker’s attempt to take credit for the infrastructure investments made by his administration, despite voting against them. “That’s okay, Speaker McCarthy. I’ll see you at the next groundbreaking,” Biden quipped on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The partisan divisions continue to intensify as the political theater surrounding Trump’s legal battles unfolds. Only time will tell how these indictments will impact Trump’s future and the ongoing battles between Republicans and Democrats.
