President Joe Biden on Friday defended the conviction of former President Donald Trump and claimed it was “reckless” for his gagged political opponent to call it “rigged.”
Trump called the trial a “scam” and vowed to appeal the guilty verdict.
About two hours after Trump spoke, Biden directly mentioned Trump by name in a carefully crafted press conference. “The American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed,” Biden claimed. “Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself.”
Biden pointed out that Trump’s lawyers chose the jury in Manhattan — a location from which Trump tried to move the case. The Manhatten jury pool more often than not leaned politically left, New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman said during jury selection.
“The jury heard five weeks of evidence, five weeks. After careful deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict,” Biden said, speaking slowly. “They found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts.