The American people "absolutely" see former President Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts "as what it is, the weaponization of the judiciary," said Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley.
"It is going after the president with lawfare because they cannot beat him at the ballot box," Whatley said Friday during an appearance on Newsmax's "The Chris Salcedo Show."
"When you look at where we were four years ago, we had a strong southern border, we had a strong economy, we had a strong standing in the world. Today, none of those are true. Joe Biden is going to lose to Donald Trump. And that's why they've weaponized the judiciary to go after him," he added.
Trump on Thursday became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a hush money payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
"This was a rigged, disgraceful trial," an angry Trump told reporters after leaving the courtroom. "The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people. They know what happened, and everyone knows what happened here."
Judge Juan M. Merchan set sentencing for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where GOP leaders, who remained resolute in their support in the aftermath of the verdict, are expected to formally make him their nominee.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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