Reactions are pouring in from around Illinois after former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony counts he faced for falsifying business records in New York.
Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11, just four days before the start of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Here is a round-up of the reactions from the former president, the current president, and from a variety of Illinois officials as we receive them.
Former President Donald Trump:
"This was a disgrace. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt. It's a rigged trial, a disgrace. They wouldn't give us a venue change. We were at 5% or 6% in this district, in this area. This was a rigged, disgraceful trial.
“The real verdict is going to be November 5th by the people. And they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here. You have a Soros-backed DA, and the whole thing, we didn't do a thing wrong.
“I'm a very innocent man, and it's okay, I'm fighting for our country. I'm fighting for our Constitution. Our whole country is being rigged right now.
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“This was done by the Biden administration in order to wound or hurt an opponent, a political opponent. And I think it's just a disgrace. And we'll keep fighting. We'll fight till the end, and we'll win because our country has gone to hell.
“We don't have the same country anymore. We have a divided mess. We're a nation in decline, serious decline, millions and millions of people pouring into our country right now from prisons and from mental institutions, terrorists, and they're taking over our country. We have a country that's in big trouble.
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“But this was a rigged decision right from Day One. With a conflicted judge who should have never been allowed to try this case. Never. And we will fight for our Constitution. This is long from over. Thank you very much."
President Joe Biden’s Campaign:
“In New York today, we saw that no one is above the law.
“Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: at the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.
“The threat Trump poses to our democracy has never been greater. He is running an increasingly unhinged campaign of revenge and retribution, pledging to be a dictator ‘on day one’ and calling for our Constitution to be ‘terminated’ so he can regain and keep power. A second Trump term means chaos, ripping away Americans’ freedoms and fomenting political violence – and the American people will reject it this November.”
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker
“Justice has been served. After facing a jury of his peers, Donald Trump is exposed as the liar and fraud that he is. Trump evaded the law to deceive voters and today, the law caught up with him.
“Donald Trump is a racist, a homophobe, a grifter, and a threat to this country. He can now add one more title to his list – a felon. But let me be clear, Donald Trump will never be 47.”
Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy
"Let's call this trial what it really is: a political prosecution the likes of which occurs in banana republics but not previously in these United States. Democrat activist investigators and prosecutors have relentlessly hounded President Trump for years. First, they challenged the legitimacy of his election in 2016 thru the Russian collusion hoax. Then, they strove to defeat his re-election in 2020 thru impeachments and the Hunter Biden laptop coverup. Then, they indicted him and his supporters to tarnish his legacy in an effort to re-elect President Biden. This weaponization of the judicial system has weakened our country here and in the eyes of the world, which I'm sure President Biden will savor while he vacations in Delaware as his handlers make critical decisions for the country."
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL 05)
"I have always said, no one is above the law, not even a former president.
"Today, the justice system finally caught up with Donald Trump.
"Let us remember that Donald Trump is also under indictment for several other crimes, including some that were much more damaging to our national security and our democracy. He must be held accountable for every one of his misdeeds.
"For the sake of the nation, Republicans must abandon Donald Trump as the head of their party once and for all and help prevent a historic criminal from retaking the most powerful post in the world."
Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL 15)
“The leftists are trying to tear America apart by erasing our borders, bankrupting us, and ending our impartial system of justice. The American people see right through these rigged political show trials against President Trump. The leftists will fail and we will save America.”
