By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Northern Missouri Congressman Sam Graves worries about the fallout now that a New York jury has convicted former President Donald Trump of paying hush money to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
Graves, a Republican, says the prosecution of Trump effectively weaponizes the court system.
“The unfortunate part is we’re in a time now where we’re going after political opponents using the courts. And that is weaponization of the court system,” Graves tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “And I worry now that it’s going to start being a tit for tat and back and worth and that’s just going to be a downward spiral for our judicial system and the entire country.”
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of illegally influencing the election by paying hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about their alleged one-night-stand.
Graves contends the prosecution of Trump in effect weaponizes the court system, claiming even the instructions the judge gave the jury were extremely biased.
“That is weaponizing the courts. That is using the court system, the judicial system, to try to take out an opponent rather than using the election itself or the way people vote or whatever the outcome might be in the November election,” Graves says. “And, it’s terribly unfortunate. It is a strong charge, but it’s absolutely what’s happening.”
Graves says he doesn’t know how the felony conviction will impact Trump’s rematch with President Joe Biden.
“We may never know for that matter,” Graves says. “I guess we’ll find out what the outcome is obviously in November.”
Graves says he has a good idea how his deeply conservative 6th Congressional District will respond, but doesn’t know how the rest of the country will. Graves says it’s even harder to determine what effect it will have beyond the 2024 elections.
“What the ramifications will be, long-term, we may never know.”
Graves calls the prosecution of Trump purely political and says he stands with Trump.
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