Slips away? Actually runs and hides...

Congress slips away before Trump indictment

By KATHERINE TULLY-MCMANUS

The historic indictment of former President Donald Trump last night, in some ways, let Congress off the hook. The Thursday evening timing of the indictment was a blessing for lawmakers in both parties, who had left the Capitol hours before to start the two-week Easter and Passover recess.

Sure, the carefully prepared official statements started flowing soon after the news broke. But lawmakers in both parties slipped out of Washington before they could face a non-stop barrage of questions about Trump at every turn.

Republicans unleashed rage at Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg after the grand jury voted on Thursday afternoon for the indictment.

GOP defends Trump, attacks Brag:

• “Bragg down grades NYC felonies to misdemeanors and when it comes indicting Pres Trump Bragg upgrades a misdemeanor to a felony,” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) tweeted.
• “The Department of Justice already looked into the facts and decided there was no case to be made against President Trump. This is the same District Attorney who is notorious for letting violent criminals off the hook in Manhattan, but has been laser focused on pursuing a politicized prosecution of a former President.” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said in a statement.
• Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) made no promises of specific action but said the House would “hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account” and that Bragg “has irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our Presidential election.”
• Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) seemed to offer a wish list for Bragg, referencing the fate of another DA: “Wonder if DA Bragg remembers Durham DA Mike Nifong who withheld exculpatory DNA tests on the Duke lacrosse players. He was subsequently forced out of office, disbarred, and convicted of contempt of court.”

Related reads: Hill Republicans sprint to Trump’s corner before indictment details are clear, from Kyle Cheney; Republican leaders and Trump loyalists on Capitol Hill rally behind the former president after indictment, from Lauren Fox and Melanie Zanona, CNN

Ahead of the indictment, Olivia and Burgess interviewed more than 40 Republicans on Capitol Hill (including 32 Freedom Caucus members) and revealed that Trump’s once-ardent supporters are going quiet about whether they back him for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, despite new polling that shows him widening his primary lead.

Will Thursday’s indictment rally the GOP around its standard bearer? That remains to be seen. But the former president’s power over Hill Republicans was on the decline, even as 2024 his challengers have largely not yet begun to ramp up their outreach to Capitol Hill.

Democrats react:

• “Mr. 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,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement on Thursday night.
• “The grand jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former president will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right,” said former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
• Meanwhile, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) doesn’t need your (or anyone’s) premature thoughts: “Just a reminder that there is no rule that you have to express your opinion before reading the indictment,” he tweeted.

Deadline reminder: Three House Republican committee chairs, including Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Administration Committee Bryan Steil (R-Wis.), sent a letter before the indictment requesting testimony from Bragg and information related to his investigation into Trump. Bragg’s office pushed back, but the Republican chairmen have doubled down and set their deadline for today at 10 a.m.