North Dakota congressmen voice support for Trump after guilty verdicts

WASHINGTON, D.C. — All three members of North Dakota’s congressional delegation weighed in on the outcome in former President Donald Trump’s criminal hush money trial Thursday, May 30, with Sen. Kevin Cramer condemning nearly every aspect of the case and its outcome, including New York City itself.

Cramer, who is up for reelection this fall, posted on Facebook less than a half-hour after the jury announced guilty verdicts on 34 criminal counts, making Trump the first-ever former U.S. President to become a convicted felon.

“A kangaroo court in a third world city has ensured Donald Trump will be elected again. A corrupt judge enabled by the Democrat election tampering machine working with a corrupt prosecutor and well paid witnesses will obviously lead to a successful appeal for President Trump. The American people know better than to fall for this farce. We must de-weaponize our justice system so corrupted by the current administration,” he wrote.

Rep. Kelly Armstrong, who earlier in the day received a much-sought-after endorsement for the Republican nomination for North Dakota governor from Trump in his primary battle against Lt. Gov. Tammy Miller, questioned the legality of the case, saying the statute of limitations for the allegations had long passed.

“I talked to President Trump this morning and just told him to keep his head up while he was going through this,” he said during his debate with Miller on Thursday. “As someone who used to practice in this area … I have no idea how this happened.”

Sen. John Hoeven predicted the former president would appeal the case before Trump officially announced those intentions in a press conference Friday.

“Clearly, the Manhattan DA is politically motivated and both this case and the verdict undermine Americans’ confidence in our judicial system. This case is far from over, and President Trump can and undoubtedly will appeal the verdict. Ultimately, the American people will have their say in the election,” Hoeven said in a statement Thursday evening.

The state’s all-GOP delegation’s support for Trump mirrored that of elected and other high-profile Republicans from across the country. Gov. Doug Burgum also piled on to the verdict, calling it a “travesty of justice” on the social media platform X. During an appearance on Fox News Thursday, he said the trial had been unfair to Trump and claimed the jury was made up of only Biden voters.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.