By adopting Donald Trump's strategy of blaming the American judicial system following his historic conviction, Republicans in Congress are eagerly rallying around his vengeful and political campaign in the Republican Party's attempt to reclaim the White House.

Almost no Republican official stood up to suggest that Trump should not be the party's presidential candidate in the November elections - in fact, some sought to expedite his nomination. Only a few others dared to defend the legitimacy of the New York state court that heard the illicit money case against the former president, or the 12 jurors who issued their unanimous verdict.

In fact, any Republicans who expressed doubts about Trump's innocence or his political viability, including his hardline former national security advisor John Bolton or leading Senate candidate Larry Hogan, were immediately bullied by the former president's enforcers and told to "leave the party."

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, said she would vote for Trump “whether he is a free man or a prisoner in Biden's system.”

The controversial Congress member also posted an upside-down American flag, which has come to symbolize the “Stop the Steal” movement that Trump began with his allies before the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

The quick, harsh, and deep commitment to Trump, despite his conviction for a felony, demonstrates how fully Republican leaders and lawmakers have been immersed in his baseless grievances about the "rigged" system and the dangerous conspiracies of a "weaponized" government in their attacks on President Joe Biden and the Democrats.

Instead of shying away from Trump's rising authoritarian rhetoric or ensuring they will provide checks and balances for a second term for Trump, Republican senators and representatives are altering the longstanding belief in American governance and paving the way for what they plan to do if Trump regains power.

On Friday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan demanded that District Attorneys Alvin Bragg and Matthew Colangelo appear before a hearing in June regarding "the weaponization of the federal government" and "unprecedented political persecution" of Trump - even though Biden, as president, has no authority over state courts in New York.

Jason Stanley, a professor at Yale University and author of "How Fascism Works," said, "What we are preparing for is that if Trump wins, he will use the apparatus of the state to target his political opponents."

Stanley noted that history is full of examples of people who do not believe the rhetoric of tyrants, "they believe what they say." "He is literally telling you he will use the state apparatus to target his political opponents."

At Trump Tower on Friday in New York, the former president returned to the types of attacks he has repeatedly launched in campaign speeches, portraying Biden as "corrupt" and the United States as a "fascist" state.

Trump described the bipartisan House committee that investigated the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol as “thugs” and said Biden was a “legitimate candidate,” a phrase inspired by a 1960s film depicting a puppet in the hands of a political enemy of the United States.

Trump's campaign memo included talking points for Republican lawmakers, indicating they should describe the case as "fake," "a hoax," "a witch hunt," "election interference," and "a legal war" devised by Biden, whom they described as "deceptive."

Biden faces no such accusations, and Republican efforts in the House to impeach the president over his son Hunter Biden's business dealings have largely stalled. Hunter Biden is scheduled to appear in court next week on a separate firearms-related charge in Wilmington, Delaware.

President Biden said on Friday that “it is reckless, dangerous, and irresponsible for anyone to say this is a rigged system just because they don't like the verdict.”

When later asked at the White House if this could happen to him, Biden said: “No, absolutely not. I did nothing wrong. The system is still in place.”

Regarding Trump's claims that the case is being orchestrated by the Democratic president to politically harm him, Biden sarcastically replied: "I didn’t realize I was that powerful."

In the hush money case, Trump was convicted of attempting to influence the 2016 election by falsifying funds to a porn star to bury the story of their affair. He faces three other felony charges, including the federal case related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election. However, it is unlikely they will be heard before the expected rematch in November against Biden.

Thursday's ruling came after a jury found in 2023 that Trump was liable for sexual assault against advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, and a judge in the 2024 business fraud case ruled that Trump lied about his wealth for years, ordering him to pay an astonishing $355 million in penalties.

For nearly one person, the Republicans in Congress who spoke out publicly provided a unique voice for Trump.

Speaker Mike Johnson amplified the allegation, without evidence, that the Democrats were trying to harm Trump on "Fox & Friends." He said he believed the Supreme Court should "intervene" to resolve the case.

The Republican House Speaker stated: "The judges in the court, I know many of them personally, and I think they are very concerned about this just like we are."

Outgoing Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said he expects Trump to win his illegal funds case on appeal, but the three senators seeking to replace him as leader echoed stronger criticisms of Trump toward the judicial system.

Senator John Thune of South Dakota said the case is "politically motivated." Texas Senator John Cornyn described the ruling as "shameful." Florida Senator Rick Scott stated that anyone calling themselves a party leader "must stand up and condemn" what he called "illegal election interference."

Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine and known as a bipartisan leader, said the prosecutor “brought these charges specifically because of the defendant's identity and not for any specific criminal behavior.”

With the judgment in the hush money case expected in July before the Republican National Convention, Republican Representative Chip Roy of Texas said the Republican Party should accelerate the pace of the convention to expedite Trump’s nomination as the party's presidential candidate.

Republican legal advisor Mike Davis, a former senior aide in the Senate mentioned for a future position in the Trump administration, distributed a message detailing the next steps.

He wrote in a post on Friday: “Dear Republicans.” And if their response to the conviction ruling was "we should respect the process" or "we are too principled to retaliate," he suggested they do two things: one was crude, the other: "leave the party."

Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, circulated his own letter in which he noted that it was the White House that "mocked" the rule of law and transformed politics in "un-American ways." He and other Senate members threatened to disrupt Senate business until Republicans took action.

He said, "Those who have turned our judicial system into a political weapon must be held accountable."