Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - The guilty verdict in the hush money trial against former U.S. President Donald Trump continues to send shockwaves across the country. One local lawmaker in Washington believes the verdict was correct, while another feels Trump was never given a fair trial.
Congressman Tim Kennedy (D, NY-26) feels the verdict speaks for itself in a very public process that played out in New York City.
"There was a decision that was made that we need to trust as American people. It was the right decision, and no one is above the law. That was demonstrated in the court of law [in] a 34-count indictment, guilty on all felony charges by a 12-person jury," said Rep. Kennedy in an interview with WBEN. "It's a sad day in American history, but justice is being served and we need to trust the system."
Whether or not this guilty verdict will have an impact on this November's election for the White House is something Kennedy will leave for others to decide, at this time.
"The bottom line is, we have a former American president that has been found guilty on 34 felony counts, and it's a sad day in American history. There's no place for that sort of individual in government, that's for sure," Kennedy said.
Meanwhile, Congressman Nick Langworthy (R, NY-23) feels Thursday's guilty verdict of former President Trump is a dark day for the country's judicial system.
"Frankly, this was a corrupted jury coming back with this verdict after we had a corrupt DA that was funded by George Soros. His campaign was run that way. He ran on a platform to get Trump, that's what he said. And the judge conducted himself in the most corrupt manner I've ever heard on a judicial level," said Langworthy with WBEN on Friday. "They brought the case in Manhattan, they refused to entertain a venue change. Just for instance, Donald Trump got under 10% of the vote in the area where this jury was pulled from. This wasn't a jury of his peers, this was a jury of his adversaries. There was no fair trial available to former President Trump in in this process, and now we have these very obscure charges that would have been brought against no one else in the world. And they got what they wanted. They're going to use the words 'convicted felon' in the election."
Langworthy feels this trial against Trump should have never happened, and these charges should have never been brought about.
"They refused to allow an FEC expert and Commissioner to testify. If there's an election law violation, wouldn't you bring in expert testimony from the Federal Elections Commission? This was a rigged system. This was a rigged trial. The outcome was predetermined. And his hope is now to take it up on immediate appeal, and I'm confident that President Trump's legal team will do that."
While Langworthy feels history is being made every single day for the wrong reasons in this country, the people of the United States will back the former president more as we continue to inch closer to the November general election.
"I mean, he's already leading in all the polls, he's leading in all the swing states, he's leading in the national polls. When you see something like this and the conduct of this judge, especially as he gave the instructions to the jury, I think it was so obscure. There was no way for President Trump to be acquitted, at that point. They were changing the rules and the charges as they went," Langworthy said. "It is a kangaroo court, in it's very most polite description. And I think this is going to be nothing but a boost to President Trump.
"If you want to beat him, beat him at the ballot box. But the American people know they're not better off than they were when President Trump was president."
Langworthy adds this is far from over, but this is politics and it's persecution at it's very ugliest.
