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A Manhattan jury found former U.S. President Donald Trump liable for sexually abusing the writer E. Jean Carroll and then defaming her, but rejected her accusation that Trump had raped her.
Here’s a running list of what the likely GOP field for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination has said about the verdict so far.
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‘Indefensible’
Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a 2024 White House hopeful, blasted Trump over the verdict, calling Trump’s sexual abuse of her “indefensible.”
“Over the course of my over 25 years of experience in the courtroom, I have seen firsthand how a cavalier and arrogant contempt for the rule of law can backfire,” Hutchinson told Semafor. “The jury verdict should be treated with seriousness and is another example of the indefensible behavior of Donald Trump. “
‘Anaphylactic response’
Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy questioned whether the verdict would have been different if the defendant had not been Trump.
“This seems like just another part of the establishment’s anaphylactic response against its chief political allergen: Donald Trump,” he said. “In America we don’t weaponize the law with decades-old allegations to eliminate our political opponents.”
Staying quiet
Although he has not yet announced his candidacy, Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence is widely believed to be considering a run for the presidency.
Pence’s team declined to reply to Semafor’s request for comment.