House Republicans Fume Over Trump’s Jan. 6 Indictment

Congressional Republicans reacted with fury and Democrats with vindication on Tuesday after Donald Trump was indicted on charges of defrauding the United States and impeding Congress’s proceedings to certify Joe Biden as president.

Within minutes of the Jan. 6-related indictment dropping, lawmakers flocked to Twitter, the social media site now known as X, to weigh in, signaling they did not want to read the 45-page document detailing the charges before registering their gut reactions.

The indictment stems from the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol. House Democrats in the last Congress empaneled a select committee to investigate the events leading up to and on that day, which found Trump culpable for stoking false claims about the 2020 election and inciting the riots as lawmakers counted the electoral votes certifying President Joe Biden's victory.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., who chaired the select committee, said the charges against Trump unveiled Tuesday "are consistent" with those that the select committee referred to the Justice Department last year.

"Successful prosecutions will not only bring accountability but also help prevent something like January 6th from ever happening again," he said.

Republicans now hold the House majority and have been using their investigative powers to probe Biden and his family's business dealings as they accuse his Justice Department of having different standards of justice for Trump than they do the current president.

"When you drain The Swamp, The Swamp fights back," House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, tweeted. "President Trump did nothing wrong!”

The top two House Republicans suggested the grand jury indictment of Trump — the ex-president's third indictment this year — is an effort to distract from information their committees have unearthed about the Bidens.

"Everyone in America could see what was going to come next: DOJ’s attempt to distract from the news and attack the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, President Trump," Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., accused the Biden Justice Department "cutting sweetheart deals for Hunter to cover for the Biden Family’s influence peddling schemes while at the same time trying to persecute his leading political opponent."

"It's an outrageous abuse of power," Scalise fumed.

The top congressional Democrats called Trump's third indictment "the most serious and most consequential thus far."

A joint statement from Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both New York Democrats, struck a more serious tone and — unlike the GOP reaction — took note of what happened at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

"In a deadly effort to overturn the will of the American people and block the peaceful transition of power, our nation’s Capitol—the very symbol and home of American patriotism and democracy—fell under attack to thousands of vicious and violent rioters," they said.

“The third indictment of Mr. Trump illustrates in shocking detail that the violence of that day was the culmination of a months-long criminal plot led by the former president to defy democracy and overturn the will of the American people," Schumer and Jeffries added.

GOP Ties to 2024 Race

A leading theme of the GOP reaction was that the Justice Department is coming after Trump because he is President Biden's leading 2024 competitor.

"The Left knows they can’t beat Trump amid Biden’s failures, so they’re trying to take him out with criminal charges," Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., tweeted.

House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., whose committee is working with the Judiciary and Oversight panels to investigate the Biden family and alleged politicization of the Justice Department, called all of Trump's indictments "sickening" and "outrageous."

“Never in our Nation’s history has a President weaponized the federal government against his political opponent," he said. "And I cannot believe our country has to endure this."

Democrats Say 'It's About Damn Time'

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., another member of the former House Jan. 6 special committee, called the latest Trump indictment “his most serious charges to date.” 

“This will put our democracy to a new test: Can the rule of law be enforced against a former president and current candidate?” Schiff tweeted. “For the sake of our democracy, that answer must be yes.”

Democratic Reps. Jimmy Gomez of California and Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania reveled in what they portrayed as something that was long overdue.

“It is reassuring to see that now, at long last, justice is being served,” Boyle, who said he was one of the first to call for Trump to be held criminally responsible for the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, wrote online.

Gomez was less diplomatic.

“It’s about damn time Trump joins the thousands of domestic terrorists charged for participating in the January 6th insurrection,” he posted on Twitter.

Suspicious Timing?

Some Republicans suggested news of Trump’s indictment was strategically timed to distract from the testimony of Devon Archer, a former Hunter Biden associate who spoke with the House Oversight Committee behind closed doors on Monday. However, Trump had been informed he was a target in Smith's Jan. 6 probe and said he was expecting to be indicted long before Archer's testimony.

“It’s no surprise at all that following Devon Archer’s damning testimony yesterday, the DOJ drops more charges against President Trump,” Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., said on X. “Their efforts at distraction can never change the real problem: President Biden is in serious trouble.”

House Republicans view Archer as a key witness in their investigation into the Biden family finances. Archer testified that Hunter Biden sold the “illusion” of access to his father to his business associates, but also said the president never spoke about business with his son’s business partners, according to lawmakers who heard his testimony.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., one of the lawmakers who attended, also pointed out the timing of the indictment coming a day after Archer's testimony.

"It almost seems that the persecution of President Trump by the DOJ is a cover-up for Biden’s criminal activities," he tweeted. "But it’s just a coincidence!"

GOP Calls to Defund Special Counsel

Conservative bomb-throwers Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., called on their colleagues to thwart the case by targeting the federal purse strings that are funding the special counsel's investigation.

“DEFUND JACK SMITH'S WITCH HUNT AGAINST PRESIDENT TRUMP!” Gaetz commanded on social media.

Greene pledged to use an obscure spending tool to get the job done.

“I will not fund Jack Smith’s special counsel and I will use the Holman Rule to defund his office. President Trump is innocent and we must end the witch hunts!” Greene fumed online.

Other Republicans also attacked Smith but didn't go as far as to call for defunding his office.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., called him "a rogue prosecutor with an axe to grind," while Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., mocked Smith for purportedly being "impartial."

Democrats Demand Accountability

Democratic Reps. Diana DeGette of Colorado and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan insisted that this was all about accountability.

“Trump incited a deadly insurrection to try to remain in power. For the sake of our Democracy, he must be held accountable,” DeGette wrote online.

Tlaib said glossing over Trump’s involvement in a “violent, fascist insurrection” would be unforgivable.

“We must never forget how fragile our democracy is and how important it is that we protect it,” she warned online, adding, “The American people deserve justice.”