The Hitchhiker’s Guide to how Hunter Biden’s legal woes could accelerate an impeachment inquiry

The legal woes of Hunter Biden and today’s dropped plea deal likely accelerates the possibility of a formal impeachment inquiry by House Republicans.

Some Republicans were skeptical of launching any sort of inquiry – let alone impeaching the President.

HUNTER BIDEN PLEADS 'NOT GUILTY' AS PLEA DEAL FALLS APART DURING DELAWARE COURT APPEARANCE

But issues with the plea deal did nothing but pose more questions from Republicans. 

That’s why this likely spurs more serious conversation about impeachment inquiry.

HUNTER BIDEN TO APPEAR IN FEDERAL COURT, ENTER GUILTY PLEA OUT OF YEARS-LONG FEDERAL PROBE

This will be about the math.

The full House must vote to formally begin an impeachment inquiry. It’s fair to say that the House is a little closer to that now than it was before the Hunter Biden deal blew up. 

LONGTIME BIDEN ALLY WAS PROSECUTOR IN US ATTORNEY WEISS' OFFICE DURING HUNTER PROBE, CALLED HIM 'A BROTHER'

Moreover, voting to ESTABLISH an impeachment inquiry gives the House WIDE LATITUDE to go after more documents, information and conduct depositions. The Hunter Biden deal situation poses more questions than answers. So more Republicans may be inclined to pursue such a plan. 

Meantime, Democrats seem to be caught off guard by the change with Hunter Biden’s deal. They were prepared to just dismiss this and move on. But they can’t anymore. So far, Democrats have presented little cohesive strategy about how to deal with this turn events – and protect the president. 

We could hear more about this Thursday and Friday as this is the last time until mid-September that the House will be in town. 

Expect lawmakers to pepper House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) about the next steps. And also, pose questions to Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) about the defense Democrats may need to mount on behalf of the president.

Choosing your opponent: Why Democrats are bashing the Supreme Court now

President Biden can’t choose his direct opponent next year. But Mr. Biden and Democrats can certainly manufacture one. 

The Supreme Court is on the ballot in 2024.

Liberals are incensed at the latest spate of Supreme Court opinions. Several of the decisions went against causes important to the left.

The High Court undid the President’s plan to cancel $400 billion in student loans. LBGTQ groups are infuriated that the Court ruled that a Colorado web designer doesn’t have to make sites for same-sex weddings. Finally, the Supreme Court ruled against affirmative action requirements in higher education.

IMPEACHMENT ONCE AGAIN LOOMS LARGE IN CONGRESS

Expect Democrats to resort to a page in their playbook which likely helped the party gain a seat in the Senate and nearly cling to control in the House in 2022. The Dobbs opinion on abortion last year emerged as a game changer. It energized progressives and pro-choice Democrats and independents. The ruling infused the polls with a stream of voters, serving as a political life preserver to the party. 

Democrats have a lot more to campaign on in 2024 when it comes to the Supreme Court. Questions about the ethics of Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas abound. U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts declined to take part in a hearing called in the spring by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., about the conduct of the justices. The panel is prepping another clash with the Court as Senate Democrats write a bill about the ethics of justices.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told CNN the justices are "destroying the legitimacy of the Court." She endorses issuing subpoenas for justices.

"They are expanding their role into acting as though they are Congress itself. And that, I believe, is an expansion of power that we really must be focusing on the danger of this court and the abuse of power in this Court, particularly as it is related to the entanglements around conflicts of interest as well," said Ocasio-Cortez.

This is why left-wing Members hope to expand and potentially "pack" the Court with jurists who may do the bidding of progressives.

"Expanding the court is constitutional. Congress has done it before and Congress must do it again," said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.

Markey is right. The composition of the Supreme Court has bounced around for decades. The size of the Court is not established by the Constitution. Congress set the makeup of the Court via statute. Congress would periodically increase or decrease the number of seats on the Court for political reasons.

The Judiciary Act of 1789 created a Supreme Court comprised of six justices. But in 1801, Congress reduced the size of the Court to five justices. That was an effort to undercut President Thomas Jefferson from filling the Supreme Court with one of his nominees. Don’t forget that the House of Representatives elected Jefferson as president in what is known as a "contingent election" following a dispute over the Electoral College. 

MUST-DO: WHAT CONGRESS HAS LEFT ON ITS PLATE AT YEAR'S HALFWAY MARK

Because of the burgeoning size of the federal judiciary, Congress added a seventh justice to help oversee lower courts in 1807. The Court grew to nine justices in 1837.

In 1863, Congress added a 10th seat to the Supreme Court for President Lincoln. This came right after the pro-slavery Dred Scott decision in the late 1850s. There was hope that Lincoln could retool the Court following the Dred Scott case by appointing a jurist aligned with the Union who opposed slavery. However, Lincoln never filled that seat. But after Lincoln’s assassination, there was fear that President Andrew Johnson may alter the court. So in 1866, Congress shrunk the size of the Supreme Court to seven justices. That prevented Johnson from nominating anyone to the Supreme Court as the nation was in the midst of Reconstruction.

Once Johnson was out of office Congress switched the number back to nine for President Ulysses S. Grant. It’s remained at nine ever since. 

But there have been efforts to change the Court’s composition since then.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt tried to "pack" the Court in 1937. He hoped to add justices for every member of the Supreme Court who was over the age of 70.

In a radio "Fireside Chat" on March 9, 1937, FDR squarely challenged the High Court.

"The Courts, however, have cast doubts on the ability of the elected Congress to protect us against catastrophe by meeting squarely our modern social and economic conditions," said Roosevelt.

FDR accused the Supreme Court of an "arbitrary exercise of judicial power" when it came to opinions about banks and railroads. So the president hoped to change the Court by adding more youthful members who might align more closely with his political agenda.

SUPREME COURT RULINGS LIKELY TO INTENSIFY CALLS FROM THE LEFT TO 'PACK' THE COURT

"There is nothing novel or radical about this idea," said FDR, noting that Congress also changed the Court’s membership in 1869. "It seeks to restore the Court to its rightful and historic place in our Constitutional government."

But FDR failed to marshal enough support for the plan with his Fireside Chats. The public opposed the idea and the Senate Judiciary Committee emphatically torpedoed the plan.

It’s doubtful that the Democrats efforts to increase the size of the Supreme Court will go anywhere. It’s unclear that the proposal has anywhere close to 51 votes to pass in the Senate. Commandeering 60 votes to overcome a filibuster is even more daunting.

However, this gives liberals another chance to rail against Senate procedures and call for an end to the filibuster. It energizes the base and helps Democratic candidates raise money. 

That’s why this effort is more about the ballot box in 2024.

"If you want to motivate American voters, you need to scare them," said Catawba College political science professor Michael Bitzer. 

Bitzer says that Democrats used last year’s abortion opinion "as a weapon in the campaign." It helped Democrats mitigate losses in the midterms.

Bitzer believes Democrats now have the opportunity to lean on three key voting blocs to help them in 2024. Democrats will lean on younger voters upset about student loans. There are minority voters upset about the Affirmative Action decision. Finally, Democrats will rely on the LBGTQ+ community. 

However, the closing argument could be the composition of the Supreme Court itself. 

"Democrats will look at the Court and argue there are individuals that should not be on the Court and that they are on the Court and we have to play hardball," said Bitzer.

Dial back to February 2016. 

Late Justice Antonin Scalia died unexpectedly. Former President Obama nominated current Attorney General Merrick Garland to fill his seat. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is the Majority Leader at the time. He refuses to grant Garland a hearing. McConnell says the next president should fill that seat. 

So former President Trump prevails in the 2016 presidential election and nominates Justice Neil Gorsuch. McConnell then shepherds Gorsuch’s nomination to confirmation after Democrats threatened a filibuster.

Upset by filibusters, Senate Democrats established a new precedent in the Senate in 2013 to short-circuit most filibusters of executive branch nominees, known as the "nuclear option." But they left in place the potential to filibuster a Supreme Court Justice. The Senate had never filibustered a Supreme Court nomination. However, the Senate did filibuster the promotion of late Justice Abe Fortas from Associate Justice to U.S. Chief Justice in the late 1960s. 

Facing a filibuster, McConnell deployed the nuclear option to confirm Gorsuch. McConnell again relied on the nuclear option to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the fall of 2018. 

After the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, McConnell ignored what he said in 2016 about confirming justices in a presidential election year. The GOP-controlled Senate rammed through the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett days before the 2020 presidential election. 

This is why liberals are apoplectic about the Supreme Court.

"Republicans have been very willing to change the rules of the game," said Bitzer. "Democrats are slowly coming to the realization that if (Republicans) are going to play that game by their rules, then (they) need to be playing that game by (their) own set of rules."

You can’t always pick your opponent in politics. 

NBA teams often pine to secure a certain matchup in the playoffs. Team A pairs up really well against Team B. Then team A is often disappointed it didn’t get the opponent it "wanted."

You can’t manufacture a potential adversary in sports. But you can in politics. 

President Biden can’t choose his direct opponent in 2024. But Mr. Biden and Democrats can certainly aim to put the Supreme Court on the ballot in 2024.

Boebert blasts Dem opponent fundraising off family members performing abortions: ‘Disgusting’

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., accused her 2024 Democrat opponent of choosing "to fundraise off the killing of innocent babies" after a campaign email touted his family members' long history in the abortion industry.

Adam Frisch, the Democrat vying for the Republican-held Colorado seat next cycle, sent an email blast Saturday, highlighting that members of his family were abortion doctors and labeling Boebert's pro-life position as "extreme."

Adam's father, Melvin Frisch, has a decades-long history of work in the abortion industry dating back to the early 1970s, when he served in the Public Health Service on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana.

Frisch said in the fundraising email that his abortionist father – who in 1982 published an analysis arguing that dilation and evacuation abortions were safe to perform after 13 weeks of pregnancy – "really shaped how I think about the issue."

REP BOEBERT SAYS SHE WILL USE PRIVILEGED MOTION TO BRING IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES AGAINST BIDEN

According to the Foundations of Life Pregnancy Center, dilation and evacuation abortions usually occur within the 13th to 24th week of pregnancy, but the "fetus is too large to be broken up by suction alone and will not pass through the suction tubing."

The center describes how after "the cervix is stretched open, the doctor pulls out the fetal parts with forceps. The fetus’ skull is crushed to ease removal. A sharp tool (called a curette) is also used to scrape out the contents of the uterus, removing any remaining tissue."

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Melvin Frisch was also medical director of Planned Parenthood Arizona, which his congressional candidate son said "helped train the next generation of health care providers at Planned Parenthood," according to the email.

Frisch noted in the email how he is excited that his OB-GYN sister, Hope Frisch, is continuing his father's "legacy" in the field.

"My opponent, Lauren Boebert, wants you to think that women having the freedom to make their own medical decisions is some extreme idea. It’s not," Frisch said of his pro-life contender.

Boebert has a history of siding with pro-life legislation in Congress, most recently introducing the Defund Planned Parenthood Act of 2023 in January to place a one-year moratorium on federal funds given to Planned Parenthood.

"Abortion is the Frisch family business," Boebert told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement. "Abortions paid for Adam's privileged childhood and private schooling, and abortionists help fund his campaign."

"It's disgusting Adam Frisch chooses to fundraise off the killing of innocent babies, but everyone needs to understand for Adam, abortions mean lining his family's pockets and filling his campaign coffers," the congresswoman said, hitting back at the Democrat's email.

Frisch's campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Democrat slammed after accidentally saying Trump ‘needs to be shot’ before quickly correcting herself

Democrat Virgin Islands Del. Stacey Plaskett appeared to accidentally say that former President Trump "need to be shot" while discussing his classified documents investigation.

Plaskett, who represents a nonvoting U.S. territory, was criticizing Trump's handling of classified documents during a live segment on MSNBC Sunday when she made the perplexing comment.

"Having Trump not only having the codes but now having the classified information for Americans and being able to put that out and share it in his resort with anyone and everything who comes through should be terrifying to all Americans," Plaskett told MSNBC.

"He needs to be shot," she said, before quickly attempting to correct herself by adding "stopped."

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The video immediately began circulating social media, with several Twitter users taking the comment seriously and calling for her removal from office.

"Imagine the outrage if a Republican said this about a Democrat," conservative communicator Steve Guest tweeted.

"Dontcha' hate when your mouth says What you are really thinking?" WorldStrat Corporation President Jim Hanson tweeted.

"This is a direct threat to President Trump and someone needs to investigate. Plaskett needs to be removed immediately," a Twitter user wrote Monday. "That’s not a slip of the tongue. She’s an adult. She should be able to handle public speaking with her position. #RemovePlaskett."

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"Quite the Freudian slip from Stacey Plaskett," another individual wrote.

Ryan Fournier, founder of Students for Trump, also posted the video and said "lock her up!"

While Plaskett claims that Trump having classified documents "should be terrifying to all Americans," recent polls indicate the former president received a boost in support among the GOP after being indicted for alleged mishandling of classified documents.

Plaskett also claimed in the interview that Trump is "going to have his day in court," after the former president pleaded not guilty to 37 federal charges stemming from the classified documents probe.

"Of course, he’s going to have his day in court," the Democrat told MSNBC. "Let’s remember that he was indicted by his peers — individual Americans who live in South Florida, a red state — they saw enough that there was probable cause for him to bring this indictment for him to stand trial."

Plaskett has a history of strong opposition to Trump, serving as an impeachment manager in the case against the former president in 2021, in which House impeachment managers argued that Trump was "singularly responsible" for the January 6th Capitol riot. Despite the Democrat's efforts, Trump was acquitted after the second impeachment trial in February 2021.

Plaskett did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

AOC’s campaign obscured thousands of dollars in expenditures, FEC complaint claims

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's campaign obscured thousands of dollars in expenditures during the 2022 election cycle, a nonprofit alleged in a recent Federal Election Commission complaint.

According to the complaint filed by attorney Dan Backer on behalf of the Coolidge Reagan Foundation, the New York Democrat failed to disclose where around $9,600 in credit card payments ultimately wound up, the Daily Caller News Foundation first reported.

Campaigns must itemize credit card charges to a vendor exceeding $200 in federal filings, including the vendor's name and address, the disbursement's purpose, the date of the services, and its amounts.

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"On numerous occasions throughout 2022, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez's authorized candidate committee, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for Congress ("AOC for Congress"), reported tens of thousands of dollars of disbursements for card payments and card payment reimbursements to Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez herself; American Express; and an entity called ‘Veyond!,’ which appears to have provided virtual reality services and apparently no longer operates under that name," the complaint states.

Backer alleges that in some cases, the 'Squad' member's committee failed to disclose the card payments' purposes. He further says the sum of specific memo items is less than the amount the campaign reported paying the recipient. 

"Although campaigns are permitted to use charge cards (or reimburse candidates for use of their personal charge cards) for otherwise permissible campaign-related expense, their disclosure reports must accurately identify both the recipient of those funds, as well as each of the campaign-related goods and services those charge cards were used to purchase," the complaint says.

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"Not only is the public entitled to that information, but without such disclosure, it is impossible to confirm a candidate is not illegally using campaign funds to pay personal expenses," the complaint continues.

Ocasio-Cortez's campaign, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaint, separately found itself in hot water over its failures and delays in paying vendors regarding her glitzy Met Gala appearance in 2021.

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into the matter last year. In March, the committee announced they had "substantial reason to believe" that Ocasio-Cortez improperly accepted gifts for the gala, which she attended with her fiancée, Riley Roberts.

"As part of her attendance, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez was provided with a couture dress, handbag, shoes, and jewelry," a House ethics report said. "She also received hair, makeup, transportation, and ready-room services." 

AOC, OTHER POLITICIANS PAID THOUSANDS IN CAMPAIGN CASH TO CHINESE FOREIGN AGENT

"Riley Roberts received a bowtie and shoes in advance of the event," the report said. "While Rep. Ocasio-Cortez appears to have now paid for the rental value of the attire she wore to the Met Gala and for the goods and services she and her partner received in connection with this September 2021 event, payment for these goods and services did not occur until after the OCE contacted her in connection with this review."

The ethics committee unanimously recommended the probe continue. Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, pinned the blame for the delayed payments on a campaign staffer. 

Senate Democrats demand Chief Justice Roberts open investigation into Clarence Thomas over ‘misconduct’

Senate Democrats are demanding Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts open an investigation into Justice Clarence Thomas over what they decry as his "misconduct" detailed in a ProPublica report published last week.

The liberal outlet's report accused Thomas of improperly receiving lavish vacations from Republican mega donor Harlan Crow, which reportedly included taking trips across the world on the latter's yacht and private jet without disclosing them. 

In a Monday letter, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., along with every Democrat on the committee, cited the report as proof that Thomas has not upheld the ethical standards set for a Supreme Court justice.

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"The report describes conduct by a sitting Justice that he did not disclose to the public and that is plainly inconsistent with the ethical standards the American people expect of any person in a position of public trust," the letter read. "The Senate Judiciary Committee, which has legislative jurisdiction over Federal courts and judges, has a role to play in ensuring that the nation’s highest court does not have the federal judiciary’s lowest ethical standards." 

"You have a role to play as well, both in investigating how such conduct could take place at the Court under your watch, and in ensuring that such conduct does not happen again. We urge you to immediately open such an investigation and take all needed action to prevent further misconduct," it added.

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Experts, however, have dismissed the ProPublica report as political hit piece, and explained that justices are permitted to accept invites to properties of friends for dinner or vacations without paying for it or disclosing it.

"This is just grasping at straws by the left that is desperate to tear down Justice Thomas because he now has a working originalist majority on the court," Roger Severino, vice president of domestic policy and The Joseph C. and Elizabeth A. Anderlik Fellow at The Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital following the report's release.

"This is politics. Plain and simple," he added.

JUSTICE THOMAS DEFENDS TRIPS TAKEN WITH ‘DEAREST FRIENDS’ AFTER REPORTS SAY HE ACCEPTED GIFTS

Constitutional law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital that until recently, "even lower court judges were not required to report such trips under a personal hospitality exception."

"Justice Thomas would not have been required to report the trips under the prior rule," Turley said. "Once again, the Democrats and the media appear to be engaging in the same hair-triggered responses to any story related to Thomas. This includes the clearly absurd call for an impeachment by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez."

Fox News' Andrew Mark Miller and Matteo Cina contributed to this report.

AOC claims there is ‘crime wave’ within GOP after saying officials should ignore court rulings

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued there is a crime wave within the Republican Party, citing former President Donald Trump’s indictment and controversy over Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 

"I admit it is very difficult to see a path in the Republican Party that refuses to hold itself accountable, and in fact, breaches the law itself," Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said on CNN. 

"The crime wave is within the Republican Party. It is within all…. what we are seeing, we have seen, we are seeing, breaking of the law by conservative members of the court. We are seeing a former president of the United States just indicted in recent days, I mean, we need to hold our systems accountable," she said. 

AOC CLAIMS THERE IS 'CRIME WAVE' WITHIN GOP AFTER SAYING OFFICIALS SHOULD IGNORE COURT RULINGS

Trump was indicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in a Manhattan court. The indictment comes as prosecutors looked into hush-money payments that the former president allegedly made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

TRUMP FACES MAXIMUM SENTENCE OF 136 YEARS IN PRISON FOR 34-COUNT INDICTMENT

Thomas was accused of improperly receiving lavish gifts from a wealthy friend, which one expert described as a political hit job. 

AOC SAYS SHE MAY DRAFT CLARENCE THOMAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLE IF NO ONE ELSE DOES

"I believe that we should pursue the course and if it is Republicans that decide to protect those who are breaking the law, then they're the ones who then are responsible for that decision, but we should not be complicit," Ocasio-Cortez continued

Ocasio-Cortez made no mention of the Biden family’s alleged corruption, including Hunter Biden’s notorious laptop that reportedly contains information about the Biden family’s business dealings with foreign nations. 

AOC, DEM SENATOR CALL ON BIDEN ADMINISTRATION TO IGNORE ABORTION PILL RULING

Days earlier, Ocasio-Cortez joined Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon in advocating to ignore a court order that would block the distribution of mifepristone, a drug used to medically induce abortions.

"Sen. Ron Wyden has already issued statements, for example advising what we should do in situations like this, which I concur, which is that I believe that the Biden administration should ignore this ruling…. The courts have the legitimacy and they rely on the legitimacy of their rulings," AOC continued. "What they are currently doing is engaged in an unprecedented and dramatic erosion of the legitimacy of the courts."

Progressive Democrats call for Clarence Thomas impeachment after reported undisclosed gifts from GOP megadonor

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other congressional progressive lawmakers called for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas amid reports he failed to disclose gifts he accepted from a Republican megadonor. 

"This is beyond party or partisanship. This degree of corruption is shocking - almost cartoonish," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted Thursday. "Thomas must be impeached. Barring some dramatic change, this is what the Roberts court will be known for: rank corruption, erosion of democracy, and the stripping of human rights."

A report by ProPublica said Thomas took luxury trips on yachts and private jets owned by Texas businessman Harlan Crow without reporting them on financial disclosure forms. A 2019 trip to Indonesia, the story detailed, could have cost more than $500,000 had Thomas chartered the plane and yacht himself, the report said.

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Supreme Court justices are required to file annual financial disclosure reports, which ask them about gifts they've received. 

Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., both called for Thomas' impeachment, with Omar tweeting: "I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Clarence Thomas needs to be impeached."

Other Democrats said the high court should have higher ethical standards. 

"Justice Thomas’ lavish undisclosed trips with a GOP mega-donor undermine the trust that our country places in the Supreme Court," Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., said. "Time for an enforceable code of conduct for Justices."

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., noted that federal judges are bound by a code of conduct "except 9."

"It's no longer ok for the Supreme Court to be the only federal court without a binding ethical code," Murphy tweeted. "For over a decade, every Congress I've introduced the Supreme Court Ethics Act. It's time to pass it."

Fox News Digital has reached out to the high court. 

Last month, the federal judiciary beefed up disclosure requirements for all judges, including the high court justices, although overnight stays at personal vacation homes owned by friends remain exempt from disclosure.

Last year, questions about Thomas’ ethics arose when it was disclosed that he did not step away from election cases following the 2020 election despite the fact that his wife, conservative activist Virginia Thomas, reached out to lawmakers and the White House to urge defiance of the election results.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Schumer calls for calm after Trump’s arraignment: ‘Protests must be peaceful’

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Tuesday called for cool heads and a fair legal process shortly after Donald Trump made history as the first former president ever to face criminal charges.

"I believe that Mr. Trump will have a fair trial that follows the facts and the law," Schumer said in a statement. "There’s no place in our justice system for any outside influence or intimidation in the legal process. As the trial proceeds, protest is an American right but all protests must be peaceful."

Trump pleaded "not guilty" to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, linked to alleged hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the GOP leader’s 2016 campaign.

Whereas his Republican allies have spent Tuesday afternoon casting accusations of partisanship at New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg for running the investigation, Democrats have mostly been restrained in their responses – emphasizing that the judicial process must be allowed to go on without interference.

TRUMP PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO GRAND JURY CHARGES DURING ARRAIGNMENT IN MANHATTAN COURT

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., one of Trump’s loudest critics when he was in office, was also careful in his statement on the arrest.

"As Donald Trump challenges the legitimacy of our criminal justice system, let us give him the equal protection and due process he’s deprived everyone he’s accused of a crime," Swalwell said. "Justice benefits all of us."

TRUMP ALLIES SLAM HIS ARREST AS ATTACK ON RULE OF LAW: ‘A DARK DAY FOR OUR COUNTRY’

Democrats were similarly tepid in their reactions last week when Trump was indicted by a grand jury on the criminal charges. By contrast, the GOP coalesced around the ex-president and attacked Bragg as a left-wing ideologue.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who led the House’s first impeachment of Trump after his phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, also stressed that his fate was now up to the justice system. But he took a shot at Trump by adding, "nobody is above the law."

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"A somber moment in the life of our country, when it’s necessary to arraign a former president on criminal charges. As the case falls to the DA to prove, we must recognize what is most important: Even the most powerful are held to account, and that nobody is above the law," Schiff said.

Bragg explained the charges at a press conference after Trump left the courthouse on Tuesday.

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"Under New York state law, it is a felony to falsify business records with intent to defraud and intent to conceal another crime. That is exactly what this case is about – thirty-four false statements made to cover up other crimes. These are felony crimes in New York no matter who you are," he said.

Dems react to Trump indictment: Schiff calls it ‘sobering,’ Waters knew ‘Stormy Daniels would get him’

Some of former President Trump's biggest critics in the Democratic Party raced to weigh in on his historic indictment just minutes after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday evening.

Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee and a vocal opponent to Trump when he was in office, reacted with glee on Twitter.

"SO Trump finally got indicted! I predicted he would and I predicted that Stormy Daniels would get him! Sometimes justice works!" Waters wrote. 

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the former head of the House Intelligence Committee and the lead Democrat in Trump's first impeachment trial, called the moment "sobering" but indicated he believed justice was served.

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TRUMP INDICTMENT: LIVE UPDATES

"The indictment of former president Donald J. Trump by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office over his alleged participation in a campaign fraud and hush money scheme that already sent his former attorney Michael Cohen to jail is a sobering and unprecedented development," Schiff said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "But if justice demanded that Michael Cohen go to jail for a scheme directed by someone else, justice also requires that the person responsible for directing the scheme must answer for their offenses against the law — and that person is Donald Trump."

"The indictment and arrest of a former president is unique throughout all of American history. But so too is the unlawful conduct for which Trump has been charged, and for the even more grievous misconduct for which he is currently under investigation by a Department of Justice Special Counsel and the Fulton County District Attorney," he said.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., urged Americans to remain neutral in a departure from his normally outspoken criticism of the right.

"The indictment of a former president is a somber day for America. It’s also a time to put faith in our judicial system. Donald Trump deserves every protection provided to him by the Constitution. As that unfolds, let us neither celebrate nor destroy. Justice benefits us all," the lawmaker said on Twitter.

Rep. Ted Lieu called for a similar hands-off approach, indicating that even the ex-president's harshest critics are treading cautiously around the historic news.

"Indicting a former President is a horrible precedent; the only precedent worse than that is to not indict Donald Trump if there is evidence that he committed crimes.This is a somber moment for America. We should let the judicial system do its job without interference," Lieu said Thursday evening.

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Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., stressed that Trump had the same due process rights as any American citizen.

"This indictment isn't a trivial matter. A grand jury made up of everyday citizens decided that there is enough evidence to charge President Trump with a crime," the senator said. "Like every person charged with a serious crime, the former President has due process rights. He will have an opportunity to defend himself in a court of law before a jury of his peers."

Trump is believed to have been indicted in an investigation related to hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, totaling $130,000 and $150,000 respectively.

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He's also being investigated by prosecutors in Fulton County, Georgia over accusations of election interference in that state, and is the subject of two federal probes under the purview of Special Counsel Jack Smith.

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Progressive "squad" member Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., denounced Republican attacks against Bragg as "racist" and called for Trump to never be allowed to hold public office again.

"Being indicted for falsifying business records with hush money is only the beginning of being held accountable for his crimes. Trump attempted to illegally overturn election results in Georgia and worked to incite the insurrection at the Capitol, both in an effort to overthrow our government to advance his fascist cause. His continued calls for protests following his arrest are just another dog whistle for his followers: destroy our democracy," Bowman said.

"Republicans will continue to claim this was a political arrest, but they can’t continue to hide behind their lies, misinformation, and racist attacks towards Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. It’s time that we ensure Trump is banned from running for any public office again and from there, finally take action to fix our democracy," he said.

Fellow Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., pointed out, "This is just one of many criminal acts for which Donald Trump is being investigated."

"Our democracy rests on the rule of law. When someone — no matter how powerful they are — is suspected of a criminal act, our justice system investigates, charges, and convicts them in accordance with due process," Omar said. "Make no mistake: the fact that one of the most powerful people in the world was investigated impartially and indicted is testament to the fact that we still live in a nation of laws. And no one is above the law."

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.