West Virginia Political Leaders Speak Out On Trump Verdict

Former President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Trump Tower, Friday, May 31, 2024, in New York. A day after a New York jury found Donald Trump guilty of 34 felony charges, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee addressed the conviction and likely attempt to cast his campaign in a new light. (AP Photo/Julia Nikhinson)

WHEELING – West Virginia’s leaders – and some who want to be- have offered their thoughts on Thursday’s guilty verdict in the trial of former president Donald Trump. Trump was found guilty of 34 felony counts in a New York courtroom, making him the first former president to be found guilty of felony crimes.

Democrats overall think the court actions show ” the law applies to everyone, even the rich and powerful.”

Many Republicans, meanwhile, believe the verdicts cast aspersions on the integrity of the United States justice system. Some also saw the occasion as a time to ask the public to send Trump’s campaign money.

– Current West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice, also the GOP candidate for U.S Senate, said “the American people will decide this (presidential) election, not some biased judge in a rigged courtroom in New York.”

“What is happening in America?” Justice asked in a released statement. “The guilty verdict against President Donald Trump is a deeply troubling and a politicized decision that undermines the principles of justice. The witch hunt against President Trump continues today.

“President Trump has always put America first and fought for the values that make our nation great. He and the entire Trump family are champions for America. … I will always treasure my friendship with Donald J. Trump and the Trump family and never waiver in my support. We must do all we can to help re-elect President Trump in November.”

He suggested the quickest way to help Trump was “to make a contribution of $1, $10, $100 whatever you can afford to ensure his campaign has the resources to beat Joe Biden and the Democrats in November.”

Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott – Justice’s Democratic opponent in the Senate race – did not immediately return calls or messages on Friday.

– Current West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey – also the GOP nominee for governor this year – called Thursday’s convictions against Trump “an affront and outrage to our constitutional republic.” He also promised to continue working to defend Donald Trump.

“What just happened is outrageous on a level that we have not seen in many, many years,” Morrisey said in a video statement. “This Trump trial wasn’t justice. It’s a political persecution at the highest level. The entire process has been tainted by improper political motives.

“What just happened is outrageous at a level we have not seen in many, many years. It’s a miscarriage of justice against President Trump. I know all of you know this is violating the law at a level we haven’t seen in many years – certainly not in my lifetime.”

He suggested the Trump trial in Manhattan should never have come to the trial phase.

“These political prosecutions – ‘witch hunts’ – are occuring at the highest level,” Morrisey said. “Things that are normally considered to be a misdemeanor are being converted to felonies because they (Democrats) are trying to go after the GOP nominee for president.

“That shouldn’t happen in America. We have to stand up strong against that. In a normal situation you would not ever do what they are doing right here. We have to make sure that reaction comes out across the country.”

Morrisey expects the case to be reversed.

“I believe that because of their (the court’s) effort to combine these different, potential crimes together and give faulty directions to the jury,” he said. “I believe that because ultimately these arguments are born from an improper political purpose.”

– Current Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, the Democratic nominee for West Virginia governor, praised the court and jury for its actions.

“The conviction of a former president on felony charges is a sad day for our nation,” he said. “The United States is not some banana republic where we use our sacred justice system to play ‘gotcha’ with our political rivals.

“The Rule of Law has been tested, and because there was no disruption or interruption during the trial process I find hope. I seek hope because my priority is to always protect and defend the Constitution of our United States and our system of governing.”

Candidates to succeed Morrisey as attorney general weighed in on the Trump convictions.

– “We are deeply disappointed in this verdict,” said current State Auditor J.B. McCuskey, now the GOP nominee for attorney general. “I expect Trump will be vindicated on appeal.

“As attorney general, I will continue to stand for a fair system of justice, free from political bias and I will continue to support the president’s surging campaign. I look forward to attending his (Trump’s) inauguration next year.”

– Wheeling attorney Teresa Toriseva, Democratic nominee for attorney general, serves as first vice chair of the West Virginia Democratic Party.

“No one is above the law,” she said. “Those 12 jurors are ordinary citizens selected by both sides in a trial and called to do a job they didn’t ask for. They unanimously came to their verdict after weeks of testimony and almost 12 hours of deliberations.

“Trump did not testify but he will get an automatic right of appeal. The law applies to everyone, even the rich and powerful.”

Republican leadership, however, continued to assert Democratic politics and power had affected the outcome in the Trump case.

They also saw his convictions on Thursday as an opportunity to encourage donations to his campaign, with many including a link to his campaign webpage on their social media posts.

– “They’ve tried to take Donald Trump off the ballot, and now they’re trying to take him off the campaign trail,” said Matt Herridge, chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party. “That is all that this is about. Democrats don’t think Joe Biden can win at the ballot box… so they are resorting to literal show trials in an attempt to weaken him (Trump).”

“What we’ve witnessed in this sham trial in Manhattan is a real low point for our country. The Biden DOJ (Department of Justice) and the liberal jurists have totally trampled over the American standard of justice. While American people are seeing right through this, we are all going to have to stand up and speak out.”

Herridge noted he had “just rushed a contribution to President Trump’s campaign.”

“I hope we turn this tragedy into a massive fundraising week for the Trump campaign,” he continued. “Americans won’t be deterred. Donald Trump will win in the end, and West Virginia and the American people are ready now more than ever to send Donald Trump back to the White House.”

– But West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman Mike Pushkin noted it was a jury made up of the people who convicted the former president on 34 felony counts.

“While my friends on the other side of the aisle clamber over each other to manufacture outrage and raise campaign funds off false, misleading and downright irresponsible statements of blind fealty to a flawed man, I’d like to point out a few things,” he said.

“Democrats did not convict Trump. Biden did not convict Trump. He was convicted by a jury of his peers who heard the evidence, deliberated, and reached the conclusion unanimously.

We should be proud to live in a nation of laws, not men, not despots. This is what makes America great. This is what always made America great.”

West Virginia’s Republican congressional delegation all expressed support for Trump.

– “The case against President Trump was politically motivated from the start,” said Sen. Shelley Moore-Capito. “Americans deserve to have their voices heard through the ballot box, not expressed through a rogue prosecutor. I fully expect this will be overturned.”

Capito’s West Virginia colleague, Sen. Joe Manchin, announced on Friday he was leaving the Democratic Party and will be an independent with no party affiliation.

He could not be reached for comment on Friday, but a member of his staff said he called it “a sad day” on Thursday following the verdicts.

– Rep. Alex Mooney pointed a finger at Democratic money coming in against Trump, and this having an effect on his convictions.

“The only person cheering today is communist sympathizer George Soros, whose biased New York district attorney brought these very old charges against President Trump in a heavily Democrat area,” Mooney said. “President Joe Biden’s endless spending policies are fueling record inflation and hurting American families.

“I am certain Trump will appeal this verdict and will prevail in the end. He retains my full support and the support of most Americans.”

Rep. Carol Miller called it “a sad day for the United States.”

“This verdict is clearly politically motivated, and it’s terrible that politics has corrupted our justice system,” she said. “When President Trump is reelected in November with Republican majorities in the House and Senate, we will ensure that people are punished for committing crimes – and not because of their politics.”