'Sad day for America': Oklahoma Republican officials call Trump indictment political, dangerous

The historic indictment of former President Donald Trump by a grand jury in Manhattan drew sharp criticism from some Republican officeholders in Oklahoma and also concern that the criminal case was aimed at influencing the 2024 election.

“When we start politicization of the justice system, I think it is a very dangerous precedent,” said Gov. Kevin Stitt at his weekly press conference Friday. Stitt, a Republican, was endorsed by Trump for reelection last year.

“First off, no one is above the law," Stitt said. "But we are going to be tit for tat, and then the next party, when they are in charge, they are going to try and indict political opponents. It’s horrible, it’s dangerous. It’s a dangerous, dangerous position for our country.”

That tit-for-tat reaction was cited by Republicans in 2019, when the House, controlled by Democrats, impeached Trump for the first time. Some saw it as retribution for the 1998 impeachment of former President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky was the subject of a grand jury inquiry, and his role in a failed development company also was investigated, but Clinton was never indicted.

U.S. Rep. Tom Cole, R-Moore, who has spent more than 40 years in Oklahoma and national politics, said Friday, “This is a sad day for America. In my opinion, the indictment of former President Trump is politically motivated, legally dubious and unlikely to prevail in court.”

What we know. Donald Trump is the first former president to face criminal charges.

U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, a Republican who has endorsed Trump’s 2024 candidacy and hosted him at a wrestling tournament in Tulsa two weeks ago, said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was “weaponizing our judicial system to go after President Trump in a complete partisan sham.”

Mullin said on social media, “Instead of blindly fixating on political retribution of a political opponent, DA Bragg should address the skyrocketing crime epidemic in his own backyard. Oklahomans see right through this blatant partisan witch-hunt. It will only make President Trump stronger going into 2024.”

Meanwhile, the vice chair of the Oklahoma Democratic Party sent out a fundraising email on Friday saying the first indictment of a current or former U.S. president will push the American political system into unchartered waters and “jolts the 2024 presidential campaign into a new phase.”

“As Democrats, we cannot let this opportunity pass us by,” Eric Proctor wrote. “We must act now and make sure we elect leaders who will hold those in power accountable for their actions. We need your support to help us ensure that we have the resources to continue fighting for a better future.”

Several media outlets have reported that Trump is planning to surrender to New York authorities on Tuesday. The former president, in a social media post, called the indictment political persecution and election interference.

"I believe this Witch Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden," Trump wrote. "The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here."

Trump captured all 77 of Oklahoma’s counties in 2016, when he won the presidency, and also in 2020, when he lost to Democrat Joe Biden. In June 2020, Trump chose the BOK Center in Tulsa as the site of a rally after months of not holding public events because of the pandemic. He returned to that arena two weeks ago to watch college wrestling and was greeted enthusiastically by members of the crowd.

Grand jury indicts Donald Trump: First time a former president is charged criminally: recap

A recent poll shows only 28% of likely Oklahoma voters approve of the job Biden is doing, while 67% disapprove. The rest didn’t answer or said they neither approved nor disapproved.

That poll, taken Feb. 22-23 by Amber Integrated of Oklahoma City, asked 500 likely voters how likely it was that Trump committed crimes before, during or after his presidency. The poll was taken more than a month before the indictment was revealed and was not specific to the grand jury’s reported investigation of payoffs to women with whom Trump allegedly had affairs. Trump’s role in trying to influence the presidential race outcome in 2020 in Georgia is also under investigation. And a special counsel is investigating Trump’s possession of classified documents after leaving the White House.

Of the Oklahoma voters surveyed in February, 41% said it was very likely or somewhat likely that Trump committed crimes, while 45% said it was very unlikely or somewhat unlikely.

Independent voters were the most likely ― 84% — to believe the former president committed crimes, while 71% of Democrats thought so. Nearly two-thirds of Republican voters — 63% — said it was very unlikely or somewhat unlikely that Trump committed crimes.

Few Republican office holders in Oklahoma have commented on Trump’s indictment. U.S. Sen. James Lankford and state GOP Chair A.J. Ferate did not respond to requests for comment by press time on Friday.

Freshman U.S. Rep. Josh Brecheen, who won the eastern Oklahoma congressional seat vacated by Mullin, was among the first to address the indictment. He said Thursday evening, “Politically motivated witch hunts against President Trump or any other former President or presidential candidate is a serious abuse of power.

“House Republicans are committed to investigating if any federal funds are being used by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his office to target President Trump for the purpose of interfering in our elections. I urge Democrats to join Republicans in condemning this baseless act of political persecution and commit to upholding the integrity of our elections and Republic.”

Biden and the White House have declined to comment, while some Democratic leaders in Congress have offered measured comments.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said, “Donald Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law.”

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-New York, said, “The preeminence of the rule of law is central to the integrity of our democracy. It must be applied equally without fear or favor. The indictment of a former President is a serious moment for the nation. A jury of Donald Trump’s peers will now determine his legal fate.”

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-California, said, "The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account."

Contributing: Staff writers Ben Felder and Nate Chute.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Trump indictment draws sharp criticism from Oklahoma GOP officials