Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on Friday ripped into New York’s judicial process, calling it “corrupt to the core,” in the wake of former President Trump’s hush money conviction.
“We’re seeing the illegal weaponization of our courts and radical district attorneys like Alvin Bragg, going after Joe Biden’s chief political opponent, that is Donald J. Trump,” Stefanik said during a speech Friday at the Faith & Freedom Conference.
Trump was found guilty last month on all 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide alleged affairs during his 2016 campaign. The case was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D), who has been repeatedly accused by Republicans of unfairly targeting Trump ahead of the 2024 election.
Stefanik repeated some of those claims Friday, alleging the case was a “form of election interference,” that was “illegal” and “unconstitutional.”
“We must do everything we can as the American people to make sure that we restore equal justice under the law, that we stand up against this radicalization, this corruption of our courts,” she said.
Stefanik touted ethics complaints she’s filed against Bragg and brought up the “corrupt” jury selection process.
“Think about this. It is so corrupt that in the jury selection process, the jurors were asked, Do you follow any social media accounts of President Donald J. Trump? If any of them said yes, they were not allowed to serve on the jury. They were not asked that about Joe Biden,” Stefanik said. “They jury shopped, and then they illegally judge shopped.”
The New York Republican also went after Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw the trial.
Trump and his defense team sought to force Merchan to recuse himself from the trial, pointing to his daughter’s work with Democratic campaigns and $35 in donations Merchan made to the Biden campaign and two liberal-leaning groups before taking on the case.
“The fact that this is a judge that donated to Joe Biden, it is corrupt, corrupt to the core!” she quipped. “We must save our country at the ballot box this November. It will be the American people that save our Constitution and save this country and fight back.”
Stefanik’s name has been floated as Trump’s potential vice-presidential pick and has repeatedly advocated for the former president on Capitol Hill.
Stefanik said she’s “honored” to have her name mentioned as part of Trump’s running mate discussions, but her focus is working to elect Republicans up and down the ballot.