Willie R. Tubbs, FISM News

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For a man who has pleaded his innocence before a judge three times in last several months, former President Donald Trump is as brash as ever. 

Thursday, he offered confident remarks both before and after he appeared in a Washington, D.C., court to face arraignment on charges related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

“I am now going to Washington, D.C., to be arrested for having challenged a corrupt, rigged, & stolen election,” Trump wrote in his customary all-caps on Truth Social. “It is a great honor, because I am being arrested for you. Make America Great Again!”

After the hearing, Trump again took to Truth Social to tell his supporters that he remains unphased. 

“Considering the fact that I had to fly to a filthy, dirty, falling apart, & very unsafe Washington, D.C., today, & that I was then arrested by my political opponent, who is losing badly to me in the polls, crooked Joe Biden, it was a very good day,” Trump wrote. 

In the interim, Trump pleaded not guilty to charges filed by special counsel Jack Smith, who alleges the former president plotted to overturn the 2020 presidential election. 

The hearing took under half an hour to complete, and was notable mostly for U.S. Magistrate Judge Moxila Upadhaya referring to Trump as “Mister “ rather than “President” Trump. As covered in more detail by Fox News, this choice of honorifics proved controversial on social media. 

Equally split were Trump’s opponents in the race for the 2024 Republican Presidential nomination. 

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, long a vocal critic of Trump, showed little sympathy. 

“Today’s arraignment of #DonaldTrump is a sad day for the Party of Lincoln & Reagan,” Hutchinson tweeted. “He hoodwinked his supporters on #January6th & he is trying to do it again. The GOP needs a course correction.”

Trump found substantially more sympathy from entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. 

“It’s a dangerous precedent for the ruling party to use police power to arrest a former president & current candidate by using untested legal theories,” Ramaswamy, who also made legacy media appearances to support Trump, tweeted. “The real question is whose invisible hand is guiding it. That’s why I sued the DOJ this week to tell us exactly what Biden told Garland & what Garland told Jack Smith about the Trump indictments. We should demand accountability and transparency.”

Former Vice President Mike Pence continued his criticism of Trump with a tweet that read, “President Trump was wrong in saying that I had some right to overturn the election. My duty on January wasn’t a belief, it’s the law and the history of this Country.”

Notably silent was Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who, as of this writing, had not commented on the latest Trump arraignment. 

REPUBLICANS QUESTION TIMING

There was wide agreement among Republicans in the House and Senate that Trump’s Thursday indictment was an attempt by the left to distract Americans from lingering scandals involving President Joe Biden. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland and the White House have long contended that the investigation is being conducted without influence from Biden, but Republicans argue that on four occasions, charges against Trump have coincided with unflattering revelations about Biden or his family. 

“The American people are smart and they see Biden’s lies and corruption,” Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) tweeted. “President Trump has never been in a stronger political position. In 2024, we will WIN – because we must win to save our Republic.”

Stefanik included a graphic in which a link is made between: 1) Trump’s April indictment in Manhattan and the revelation that Joe Biden had mishandled classified documents, 2) Trump’s June indictment in Florida and an FBI document that suggests President Biden accepted a bribe while vice president, 3) Trump’s additional Florida charges in July and news of Hunter Biden’s since-rejected plea deal, and 4) the most recent indictment and the testimony of former Hunter Biden business partner Devon Archer.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene decried what she sees as a double standard. 

“The Biden Crime Family has never produced anything their entire lives,” Greene tweeted. “The only thing they ever sold is the power and influence of VP Joe Biden in a corrupt influence peddling scheme. Now President Trump is being arrested in an attempt to interfere in the 2024 election.”

Others, like Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds, accused Smith of turning protected speech and political activity into a crime. 

“Trump’s a fighter, he’s not going to stand for this & no one should,” Donalds tweeted. “Smith is violating his 1A rights. You CAN speak about elections & outcomes. Also since he was the candidate, he’s allowed to legally contest the outcome despite what this rogue, knucklehead prosecutor claims.”

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) said the latest indictment is little more than an attempt to cripple Trump at the polls. 

“The news of another indictment against President Trump is no shock ahead of 2024,” Blackburn said in a Tuesday statement. “The Left knows they can’t beat Trump amid Biden’s failures, so they’re trying to take him out with criminal charges. Biden’s abusing two tiers of justice to target his greatest political opponent.”

Thursday, she tweeted, “Biden and Garland can no longer claim there is one standard of justice. This administration is weaponizing the DOJ against its rivals.”

Trump’s next appearance before the judge in this trial is set for August 28th.

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