Conservatives are fuming after the Republican Senate nominee in Maryland urged Americans to respect the guilty verdict in former President Donald Trump’s hush money case.
In a post on X, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) wrote, “Regardless of the result, I urge all Americans to respect the verdict and the legal process. At this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders—regardless of party—must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship.”
“We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law,” he added.
The guilty verdict came after the jury sat through a weeks-long trial involving charges stemming from the falsification of business records related to a hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Trump was hit with 34 counts in the case, which marked the first time in history a former U.S. president was charged with a crime.
Trump denied wrongdoing and his team insisted the prosecution was directed by President Joe Biden, and is expected to appeal the verdict.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, raised eyebrows with the case due to the legal theory surrounding it. As Vox noted when the charges were brought, “Bragg built his case on an exceedingly uncertain legal theory. Even if Trump did the things he’s accused of, it’s not clear Bragg can legally charge Trump for them, at least under the felony version of New York’s false records law.”
The decision sent conservative commentators into a fury on X, even those who are not hardcore supporters of the former president.
And Hogan’s post did not go over well with many conservatives:
