Former President Donald Trump was charged with 34 counts of felony fraud Tuesday in Manhattan, over the alleged falsification of business records relating to his 2016 hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels (as well as other attempts to suppress news about possible scandals). Trump pleaded not guilty, becoming the first former president to be charged with a crime.
Almost as soon as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office published the indictment on Tuesday afternoons, Republicans in the House and Senate began releasing statements in lockstep sentiment. Most followed near-identical language, giving the public a blueprint for the GOP's public relations strategy: Deny, attack and reverse.
