{"id":27402,"date":"2024-05-31T12:31:03","date_gmt":"2024-05-31T18:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-politicians-react-to-trump-guilty-verdict\/"},"modified":"2024-05-31T18:31:03","modified_gmt":"2024-05-31T18:31:03","slug":"colorado-politicians-react-to-trump-guilty-verdict","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/colorado-politicians-react-to-trump-guilty-verdict\/","title":{"rendered":"Colorado politicians react to Trump guilty verdict"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Rep.
Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., speaks outside the hush money criminal case of former President Donald Trump in New York on May 16. (Ted Shaffrey\/Associated Press file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Reactions from Colorado\u2019s politicians and congressional candidates to former President Donald Trump\u2019s guilty verdict Thursday fell along predictably partisan lines.<\/p>\n

Republican congresswoman<\/h3>\n

Lauren Boebert<\/strong> called the jury\u2019s verdict \u201celection interference\u201d on the social media site X.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we all knew, this was ALWAYS about election interference and stopping President Trump from winning his rightful re-election to the White House. The American people see through the Democrat games and know this is a sham verdict,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n

Boebert, an ardent Trump supporter, went to Manhattan to attend part of his hush money trial earlier this month, missing votes on the House floor later that day. After the verdict, she also quickly sent out a fundraising email bashing the trial as a \u201csham\u201d and a \u201cscam.\u201d<\/p>\n

GOP Rep. <\/p>\n

Doug Lamborn<\/strong> said he supports Trump appealing the decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe verdict reached today is a horrific miscarriage of justice. Today is a dark day in American history. The weaponization of our justice system is something Americans should not have to fear,\u201d he wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Colorado GOP chair<\/h3>\n

Dave Williams<\/strong>, who is also running the GOP primary for the 5th Congressional District, criticized what he described as a \u201crigged\u201d verdict in an email from the party account.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a constitutional crisis and another troubling example of the weaponization of the legal system against law-abiding citizens. This entire process, from start to verdict, has been rigged and a disgraceful political maneuver by desperate Democrats who know crooked Joe Biden is losing the 2024 election,\u201d wrote Williams.<\/p>\n

Numerous other Republican congressional hopefuls were also quick to weigh in on the verdict via posts on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now have a two-tiered justice system, depending upon your politics. It\u2019s shameful, and is NOT the justice system I served as a cop. Like many Americans, this process and verdict motivates me more than ever to defeat Joe Biden,\u201d wrote state Rep. <\/p>\n

Gabe Evans<\/strong>, who is running for the GOP nomination in the 8th Congressional District.<\/p>\n

In the 3rd Congressional District race, candidate <\/p>\n

Jeff Hurd<\/strong> called it \u201ca sad day for America\u201d and said the verdict will only divide the country further. His fellow candidate, Stephen Varela, called the verdict \u201ctragic\u201d and a mockery of the justice system. Russ Andrews, who\u2019s also running for the Republican nomination in the district wrote, \u201cthese scam trials are a desperate attempt by the Democrats to shift focus from their own failures. It is an outrage.\u201d<\/p>\n

While<\/h3>\n

Deborah Flora<\/strong>, who\u2019s running in the crowded 4th Congressional District GOP primary, said whether someone supports Trump or not, \u201cthis unprecedented and deeply flawed case should trouble every American\u2026.Equal justice under the law is a bedrock of our freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump was found guilty on all counts by a Manhattan jury of falsifying records to cover up hush money payments to avoid a sex scandal before his 2016 election.<\/p>\n

Colorado Democrats pointed to the verdict as evidence that no one, including a former president, is above the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wheels of justice turn slowly, but they do turn. No one is above the law, and today\u2019s ruling is a step towards ensuring that no American can exploit our legal system for personal gain,\u201d said Democratic Rep. <\/p>\n

Diana DeGette<\/strong> in a statement. She also praised the jurors for doing their civic duty.<\/p>\n

And Democratic Rep. <\/p>\n

Brittany Pettersen<\/strong> said in a statement that, \u201cthe rule of law is foundational to our democracy and everyone, even a former president, should be held accountable if they break the law. While it\u2019s a difficult day in American history, it\u2019s a reminder of the importance of our checks and balances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dem Sen. <\/p>\n

Michael Bennet<\/strong> said the verdict shows Trump is not fit to hold the office of the presidency.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur kids deserve political leaders who are role models and respect the rule of law,\u201d Bennet wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Democratic Rep. <\/p>\n

Jason Crow<\/strong> described it as a somber moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cA jury heard the evidence, weighed the arguments, and unanimously decided to convict,\u201d he said on X. \u201cTrump has repeatedly disregarded the law. But in America nobody is above or below the law, even a former president.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. <\/p>\n

Jared Polis<\/strong> echoed that sentiment: \u201cColoradans have faith in our justice system and the guilty convictions from a jury of his peers show the former President lacks the moral capacity to lead our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

The head of the Colorado Democratic Party, <\/p>\n

Shad Murib<\/strong>, reacted to the verdict with a wider attack against the presumed Republican presidential nominee, \u201cDonald Trump\u2019s grievance campaign is a dangerous threat to our country given his pledge to be a dictator \u2018on day one\u2019, give the wealthy even bigger handouts, and strip away our freedoms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trisha Calvarese<\/strong>, who is running as the Democratic nominee in the special election to fill the rest of former Congressman Ken Buck\u2019s final term, as well as in the Democratic primary to represent the district in the next Congress, said on social media, \u201cSay it with me. No one is above the law.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among voters, fear and triumph<\/div>\n

At a park in suburban Denver Thursday evening, the people who had come out for a sunset stroll may have shared the same walking paths, but their feelings about the day\u2019s news diverged sharply.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt should concern any American that this is what\u2019s happening to our country. And they should feel scared, because their rights are on the verge of being taken away,\u201d said Zach, a Trump supporter who didn\u2019t want to give his last name.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clearly a political game against the former president. And I think it\u2019s terrible because everyone can see it\u2019s a witch hunt, and everyone can see that he\u2019s being targeted by the liberal party, just for their own political gain,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

But while the verdict deepened Zach\u2019s distrust in the political and judicial systems, it had the opposite effect on Denver resident Kate Larson.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important that every single elected official is held accountable for their actions. No one\u2019s above the law. I mean, that\u2019s really what we were founded on, right? Is that, the king is not above the law, that we have a true democracy,\u201d said Larson.<\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cto be able to say, \u2018look, our laws still matter and they apply to everyone,\u2019 to me just says that my government is actually watching out for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neither Larson \u2013 who opposes Trump \u2013 or Zach \u2013 who\u2019s long supported him \u2013 said the verdict will have any effect on their personal views on the election. But while emotions were running high for those who\u2019d followed the trial, a lot of people out walking Thursday evening said they just hadn\u2019t paid enough attention to have much of a view at all on its outcome.<\/p>\n

CPR\u2019s Megan Verlee contributed to this report<\/em>.<\/p>\n

To read more stories from Colorado Public Radio, visit www.cpr.org<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reactions fall along predictable partisan lines<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27403,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[133,1137,819,28,1126,525,367,25],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-27402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-courts","tag-donald-trump","tag-gov-jared-polis","tag-headlines","tag-politics-general","tag-trials","tag-u-s-rep-lauren-boebert","tag-u-s-sen-michael-bennet"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27402","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27402"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27402\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27402"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=27402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}