'We have now reached a war phase': Arizona lawmakers react to Trump indictment

For at least one member of Arizona's congressional delegation, the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump Thursday means "war."

"We have now reached a war phase. Eye for an eye," Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., tweeted Friday.

The tweet alludes to Thursday's exclusive Fox News report that President Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter, allegedly each received $5 million dollars as a bribe from the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma.

Biggs' office clarified that the "eye for an eye" comment meant: "The Republican Party needs to step up and use their procedural tools to counter the Left’s weaponization of our federal law enforcement apparatus."

Biggs' tweet drew a reaction from Mark Salter, the longtime chief of staff and confidant of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who replied:  

"You can try, (expletive)."

The day before, Biggs tweeted that the Department of Justice should be "defund(ed) and dismantle(d)."

On Thursday, Trump became the first president in history to face federal felony charges related to classified documents he took to Mar-a-Lago after his term ended. This is Trump's second indictment in two months. He was charged in April with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to alleged hush money payments to a porn star in New York.

Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., noted the historic nature of the Trump indictment.

“Our country is setting important history with this indictment: the unprecedented announcement of federal criminal charges against former president Donald Trump demonstrates that our democracy and independent judicial system are strong and will not waiver in the face of corruption and abuses of power," Grijalva said Friday in a written statement. "As the evidence reflects, Donald Trump purposefully misled federal agents and his own lawyers, ignored a federal subpoena, and tried to hide the location of highly sensitive and classified national security materials.”

The charges, he continued, "are serious and include obstructing justice and violating the Espionage Act.

"These allegations stand in stark contrast to the classified documents discovered in the Biden and Pence residences’ and cooperated fully with federal authorities," Grijalva said. "The former president will receive the same constitutional rights as everyone else to have his case heard by a judge and jury of his peers."

Reps. Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., and Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., referenced the alleged bribery of the Bidens' and echoed Biggs' sentiment that Trump was under attack. They both argued that the charges against the former president were "political."

Crane tweeted Thursday: "It’s ironic that just as Congress closes in on exposing the Biden Crime Family’s bribery scheme, the Biden DOJ indicts President Trump on bogus charges. This is a political witch hunt and only serves to distract from the real criminal: Joe Biden."

The second tweet in the Twitter thread said: "They can’t beat him straight up so we’ll continue to see a continued attempt to take him out with lawfare while simultaneously witnessing the media and 'justice' system cover for the criminal-in-chief occupying the White House."

Trump is the Republican frontrunner for president in 2024.

Gosar issued a written statement Friday saying that the U.S. had reached "third-world political status" and compared the actions of the Justice Department to those of authoritarian rulers, including Stalin and Hitler, who used the judicial system to go after political opponents. Because he believes that the Justice Department is engaging in the political persecution of the former president, Gosar called Trump's indictment a "human rights violation."

"... Government officials who have technically violated a statute, including Hilary Clinton and Joe Biden, have never been indicted," Gosar said. "The Leftists at the corrupt Department of Justice have weaponized their agency to hunt conservatives, Christians and Republicans."

Opinion: Trump really was right (once upon a time). Kari Lake and Andy Biggs just proved it

Gosar called the indictment's timing "suspicious" because "further proof of the Biden Syndicate accepting bribes from Ukraine" has come to light.

"The American people have lost faith in the fairness of the justice system. Count the courts, the FBI and the DoJ as more victims of the Left’s efforts to destroy our once great institutions," Gosar said.

While Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., stopped short of calling Trump's indictment political, she expressed concern that it could be. Like Biggs, Crane and Gosar, she does not believe Trump has been treated fairly by federal law enforcement agencies.

"Based on the FBI and DOJ’s documented and verified history of biased and dishonest actions taken against President Trump in the past, I am suspicious of Trump's indictment, especially since the DOJ is not indicting President Biden for taking and storing classified information in multiple locations," Lesko told The Arizona Republic in a written statement Friday.

Jack Smith: Trump prosecutor built reputation convicting Arizona's former Rep. Rick Renzi

Some of Arizona's representatives reserved judgment until the legal matter was closed.

Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., tweeted Thursday: "This is a serious indictment, and as such it shouldn’t be handled lightly. As I’ve stated previously, we must respect the rule of law and let the legal process play out."

Rep. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., declined to comment on the ongoing legal situation.

Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., called for a judgment to be withheld, reminding people about the presumption of innocence. He did not say that the Trump indictment was political, but cautioned that he and his GOP House colleagues would be vigilantly monitoring the situation to make sure that the legal process was not politicized.

Ciscomani told The Republic in a written statement Friday: "As Americans, we have the right to be innocent until proven guilty. But in order to do so fairly, we need an impartial justice system, not a politicized one."

A newly established House subcommittee has the ability to look into  "ongoing criminal investigations.” Democrats opposed the creation of the committee at the beginning of the 118th Congress, saying that it would undercut the legal system.Rep. Daniel S. Goldman, D-N.Y., said the unit should be retitled “the Republican Committee to Obstruct Justice."

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., did not respond to a request for comment.

Tara Kavaler is a politics reporter at The Arizona Republic. She can be reached by email at tara.kavaler@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @kavalertara.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump indictment draws reaction from Arizona congressional delegation