WASHINGTON — Texas Republicans in the state’s congressional delegation are fuming after former President Donald Trump was indicted for a third time, saying the new charges are the latest example of federal law enforcement unfairly targeting conservatives. Meanwhile, Texas Democrats said the charges were justified because of the lead-up to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and Trump’s actions that day.

What You Need To Know

  • Reaction to former President Donald Trump's third indictment was mostly along party lines. Texas Republicans in Congress say it represents the weaponization of the justice system

  • Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on his podcast, said, “This is a political indictment, brought by a political prosecutor, working for a political attorney general, working for a political president who does not want to risk losing to Donald Trump in November of 2024”

  • Texas Democrats, including Rep. Joaquin Castro, say no president is above the law and that Trump bears responsibility for the violent events of Jan. 6, 2021

  • Trump is set to be arraigned on his latest indictment on Thursday 

On Jan. 6, 2021, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was one of the Senate Republicans who objected to some of the electoral votes being awarded to Joe Biden. On Wednesday, Cruz tore into Trump’s latest indictment, claiming the charges brought by an independent special counsel represent the weaponization of the justice system. 

Speaking on his podcast, Cruz did not dispute Trump lied by falsely claiming he won the 2020 election, but Cruz called the indictment  “underwhelming,” saying it broke little new ground. And Cruz criticized the federal judge randomly assigned to the case, Judge Tanya Chutkan, even though he voted to confirm her. 

“This is a political indictment, brought by a political prosecutor, working for a political attorney general, working for a political president who does not want to risk losing to Donald Trump in November of 2024,” Cruz said on his podcast.

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Richmond, was on the House floor when a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol hoping to block Biden from becoming president. Nehls wrote on social media Wednesday, “I stood my ground on the Hour floor on January 6, and I can tell you that Donald Trump is not responsible for the riot. As a member of Congress, I will continue to expose this corrupt DOJ.” 

Rep. Pat Fallon, R- Sherman, wrote, “This is the two-tiered system of justice at work.”

Rep. Ronny Jackson, R-Amarillo, called the Biden administration a “corrupt regime.”

While concern about the Justice Departments’ impartiality is a common refrain among Texas Republicans in Congress, Texas Democrats say no president should be above the law. They say Trump fired up his supporters with lies after the 2020 election and delayed trying to stop them on Jan. 6.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, served as a manager of Trump’s second impeachment trial.  

“I’m glad to see that Donald Trump has been indicted for his role in trying to overthrow the results of the 2020 Presidential Election and for stoking the failed coup of January 6, 2021,” Castro wrote on social media. “If he gets away with it others will try the same in the years ahead.”

Former Texas congressman Will Hurd is one of the only Republican candidates for president to directly speak out against Trump and criticize him for the charges he’s facing. Hurd said in a statement, “As Republicans, we need to prioritize offering solutions to difficult issues affecting all Americans and not allow ourselves to be distracted by Trump's baggage.”