"We are reminded that no one in America is above the law," Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno, said about former president Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony charges in his hush money trial. (GV Wire/David Taub)
- Members of the Central Valley Congressional delegation react to the Trump verdict.
- Responses were along party lines.
- Jim Costa, D-Fresno, would not say if Trump should serve jail time.
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Congressmember Jim Costa took a cautious tone, reacting to former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict.
Speaking to the media at Yosemite International Airport on Friday, Costa, D-Fresno, repeated his statement from the previous day.
“We’ve always taken pride in an independent judiciary, whether or not, we agree with the verdict. Yesterday’s decision … was determined by a jury of former President Trump’s peers. We’re reminded that no one in America is above the law.
“Sadly, in a divided nation that we live in today — and we recognize we live in a divided nation today — many will take issue with the judgment of the court. And, for me, I think we must, for the sake of our nation, and I will try every possible effort on my part and our well-being to work to heal these divisions that we have in America, and to move forward in what’s in the best interests of the American public,” Costa said.
Costa called the 34 charges of falsifying business records fair. He said if he was in the same situation — using his access to classified documents as an example — he would be charged.
“When you look at it in its totality, that in my mind, shows an individual who has a sense that the law that applies to every other American, doesn’t necessarily apply to him,” Costa said.
He would not comment how much jail time Trump should receive.
Other Delegation Members React
Here is a collection of comments from other members of the Central Valley delegation:
Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove:
“This verdict perverts the rule of law into a political weapon: a poisonously partisan prosecutor; a politically corrupt judge and a contaminated jury pool. It has done catastrophic damage to the American tradition of fair and free elections and to the moral authority of the law itself. Our democracy is indeed at stake.”
Rep.-elect Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield:
“(Thursday’s) verdict against President Trump is a historic turn in the politicization of our institutions. The American people are rightfully concerned with the weaponization of the legal system.”
Fong will be sworn-in officially Monday, 4 p.m. in the U.S. Capitol.
David Valadao, R-Kings County, and John Duarte, R-Modesto, did not respond to requests for comment.
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