Former speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi released a somber statement after a grand jury indicted in Manhattan indicted former president Donald Trump.
But Ms Pelosi, who led House Democrats in the minority during Mr Trump’s first two years as president and served as Speaker in his final two years, avoided mentioning his name.
“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.”
A grand jury in Manhattan has indicted the former president for allegedly paying adult film actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about a sexual relationship. Mr Trump has denied the affair took place. The grand jurors voted to indict Mr Trump earlier this week, and the indictment was only filed late on Thursday right before the court clerk’s office ended its business that day.
The one-term president is reportedly facing more than 30 counts related to business fraud, sources told CNN.
Ms Pelosi led the House of Representatives when it impeached Mr Trump both times.
In 2019, the House voted to impeach Mr Trump after he tried to force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to dig up dirt on Joe Biden in exchange for sending military assistance to Ukraine. The Senate later acquitted Mr Trump with only Republican Senator Mitt Romney of Utah joining every Democrat in voting to convict the president.
In 2021, Ms Pelosi led the House in its second impeachment of Mr Trump after the former president incited his supporters to storm the US Capitol on January 6 during the certification of the 2020 presidential election results, when every Democrat and 10 Republicans voted to impeach the former president. The Senate voted to acquit the former president, but six other Republican senators joined Mr Romney in voting to convict Mr Trump.
Since then, Ms Pelosi has avoided speaking about Mr Trump by name. In November, when she gave her farewell address, she mentioned how she worked with Democratic Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama as well as Republican George W Bush but did not mention Mr Trump.
