‘A sham show trial’: Texas, Tarrant County leaders react to Trump guilty verdict

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial “sham show” after Trump was convicted of 34 felony charges.

“This was a sham show trial,” Abbott said in a post on X, formerly called Twitter. “The Kangaroo Court will never stand on appeal. Americans deserve better than a sitting U.S. President weaponizing our justice system against a political opponent— all to win an election. We must FIRE Joe Biden in November.”

Abbott was not available for an interview late Thursday afternoon.

He was just one of Texas’ elected officials to weigh in on the guilty verdict in the case involving hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz said it’s “a dark day for America” following the verdict, also calling the trial a “sham.”

“It is nothing more than political persecution,” Cruz said in a post on X. “The only reason they prosecuted Donald Trump is because Democrats are terrified that he will win reelection. This disgraceful decision is legally baseless and should be overturned promptly on appeal. Any judge with a modicum of integrity would recognize that this entire trial has been utterly fraudulent.”

Leaders in Tarrant County have begun speaking out too. County Judge Tim O’Hare called it the verdict a “weaponization of our justice system by radical leftists” and also called it a “sham verdict.”

Republican Tarrant County court counterpart Manny Ramirez re posted Abbott’s x post. Tarrant GOP Chair Bo French has tweet three times about the verdict since it happened including a poll asking if people were more or less likely to vote for Trump after the “sham trial.”

State Sen. Tan Parker, a Flower Mound Republican, called the verdict a “blatant weaponization of our justice system.”

Texas Agriculture Sid Miller called it a “deeply disturbing day for our nation.”

He said, “This moment will echo through history and history will not be kind to the perpetrators and cheerleaders of this unparalleled sham.”

The guilty verdict is an “absolute travesty of our judicial system,” said Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick.

Patrick said Trump didn’t commit a crime, the prosecution’s “star witness was a convicted liar and an admitted thief” and that the judge was biased against Trump.

“This will be reversed at some point, but the Democrats got what they wanted - to prosecute and persecute a man they know they cannot beat in November,” Patrick said. “If the justice system can do this to a former president, it can do it to anyone in America. That should frighten every American. New York & Biden have turned our country into a third-world-styled justice system that goes after political opponents like you see in Russia or North Korea. It’s a sad day for America.”

U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess, a Lewisville Republican, also said he thinks the judge was biased, in a statement shared on social media.

“He had made a decision long before today,” Burgess said. “Republicans across America will support President Trump and will fight for the judicial system that our founding fathers intended.”

A New York jury reached its verdict Thursday after deliberations that spanned two days.

Judge Juan Merchan scheduled sentencing in the trial for July 11, according to the Associated Press.

Democrats also weighed in on the verdict.

“Today’s guilty verdict underscores that nobody is above the law—not even a former president of the United States,” said U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat in a post on X.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.