Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - There are stark differences in how members of Congress on both sides of the political aisle are digesting the highly-anticipated arraignment of former President Donald Trump on Tuesday.
On the Democratic side, Rep. Brian Higgins notes the process is following the "rule of law", while on the Republican side, Rep. Nick Langworthy is labeling it all as a "political prosecution".
It was announced late Thursday afternoon when a Manhattan grand jury had indicted Trump on charges involving payments made during the 2016 Presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter.
Assembled by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in January, the grand jury had been investigating Trump's involvement in a $130,000 payment made in 2016 to porn actor Stormy Daniels to keep her from going public about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump years earlier. Another six-figure payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal has also been scrutinized.
Trump flew back to New York on Monday from Florida for his expected booking and arraignment on Tuesday, where he is facing multiple charges of falsifying business records, including at least one felony offense. Trump denies having sexual liaisons with either woman and has denied any wrongdoing involving payments.
Trump the first former U.S. President to face criminal charges in the nation's history.
"A criminal indictment has been handed down by a grand jury, 23 members of the grand jury. We, as a community, as a nation, believe in the rule of law. Nobody's above the law," said Higgins (NY-26) of the former President's indictment. "I don't know what the indictment says, I don't know what the evidence is, but this process is playing itself out."
As for Langworthy (NY-23), he feels the indictment against Trump is simply ludicrous.
"This is a situation that was digested in the course of a political campaign six or seven years ago," said Langworthy of Trump's indictment. "Alvin Bragg is virtually the worst district attorney in America. The guy campaigned on a platform to not prosecute criminals, and on his first day in office, put out a memo of all of the felonies, including violent felonies, that people would no longer be prosecuted for in Manhattan. He won't keep the people of New York City safe, but he will use his office to politically prosecute President Trump."
Langworthy believes Bragg is committing judicial gymnastics, and it is an abuse of power, at its very best. He also says the indictment against Trump is a grand distraction on a number of things going on right now in the United States, particularly around President Biden.
As for how this plays out in Washington in the coming days and weeks, Rep. Higgins believes there has already been too much discussion about the indictment. He feels anything that anybody says is irrelevant to what really should be a concern for the people of this country.
"I'm concerned about inflation, I'm concerned about education, I'm concerned about healthcare. And all of these things are being threatened by a Republican majority in the House that wants to bring down the economy of the United States," Congressman Higgins said.
"This is family incomes, this is family retirements,. That is the biggest concern right now, and every American should be concerned about it. We have a $25 trillion economy, we're 5% of the world's population, 22% of the world's economy. If there is a default, that will bring down the entire world economy. We are recovering now. We've had record job growth of the past several months, unemployment is at historic lows, at 54-year lows. We're seeing more investment in manufacturing jobs with the CHIPS Act, with the Inflation Reduction Act, with the Bipartisan Infrastructure law. All of this creates jobs, all of this creates economic growth moving forward. That's where the focus should be. There's nothing that anybody can do. This is in the hands of a judge and a grand jury."
As for Rep. Langworthy, he knows this indictment will have an impact in Washington, but feels President Trump will go through this trial and will be acquitted.
"This is, most likely, a very flimsy charge. We haven't seen the full indictment yet, because they've been cloak and dagger with the whole situation," Congressman Langworthy said. "No one in the history of the State of New York has been prosecuted for a similar case, is my understanding, and I believe that they have just gone out of their way to charge him just to put him through this process. So President Trump will have to handle that with his campaign and the balance that goes on there."
Langworthy goes on to say he believes there is a grand abuse of the judicial system not only with this case surrounding Trump, but elsewhere around the country, in New York State and in New York City.
"You have [George] Soros-backed prosecutors that are weaponizing our court system. Meanwhile, New York State has created an environment where people aren't safe from street crime," he said. "What's so offensive here is a district attorney won't prosecute real criminals that are harming people, but wants to find an obscure judicial angle to prosecute President Trump for a business deal from long ago."
While Higgins believes this indictment is in the hands of the grand jury in Manhattan and nobody is above the law, Langworthy is concerned more people could seek to prosecute political enemies in the future. He feels it continues to show the abuse of the system, especially when it comes to Soros and his funding of district attorney candidates in New York.
"I dealt with this when I was state chairman of the [GOP], where he would find radical, leftist district attorney candidates to support in key races for district attorney, even in counties like Monroe County and Ulster County. Luckily, in Rochester and Monroe County, they weren't successful, but millions of dollars showed up to support candidates that basically ran on a platform to not enforce the laws.," Rep. Langworthy said. "We need prosecutors that understand the law, that will use it effectively, and apply it evenly. That is not happening here in Manhattan, and Alvin Bragg, I think, is a disgrace. Kathy Hochul should have fired him as soon as she became the Governor."
