Lawmakers react to Trump’s guilty verdict

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) - Lawmakers from throughout our region responded to Thursday’s guilty verdict in the Trump hush money trial.

In a statement, Senator Peter Welch, D- Vt., condemned Trump’s behavior throughout the trial. “Donald Trump spent this trial attacking the Judge, the prosecutors, the witnesses, the jurors, and others who were not remotely involved in this case... Those who worked on this case, and heard the facts of this case, should be protected through the next steps of this process and beyond,” Welch said.

“Today is a somber day for our country. The American people expect and deserve our elected officials to lead and govern by example, and to conduct themselves in the highest manner befitting of their offices. Ours is a nation of laws, and for our democracy to function as intended it is incumbent on all of us to respect the jury’s verdict. No one, not even a former president, is above the law,” Rep. Annie Kuster, D-N.H., said in a statement.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., one of Trump’s fiercest defenders, echoed many of Trump’s own complaints about the trial. “Today’s verdict shows how corrupt, rigged, and unAmerican the weaponized justice system has become under Joe Biden and Democrats. I fully support President Trump appealing this decision and look forward to a higher New York Court to deliver justice and overturn this verdict,” she said.