WASHINGTON — President Biden attacked Donald Trump Friday for claiming that his hush money trial in Manhattan was “rigged” against him following his conviction Thursday on 34 criminal counts — saying Trump was acting “dangerous” and “irresponsible.”
“Just checking it’s afternoon — good afternoon,” Biden began a hastily scheduled event billed as remarks about the Israel-Hamas conflict — more than two hours after Trump claimed that his rival orchestrated a “rigged” case ahead of their Nov. 5 rematch.
“I just want to say a few words about what happened yesterday in New York City: the American principle that no one is above the law was reaffirmed,” the 81-year-old Biden said in his first public remarks on Trump’s conviction.
“Donald Trump was given every opportunity to defend himself. It was a state case, not a federal case, and it was heard by 12 citizens, 12 Americans, 12 people like you, like millions of Americans who served on juries. This jury was chosen the same way every jury in America is chosen,” Biden said.
“It was a process that Donald Trump’s attorney was part of. The jury heard five weeks of evidence — five weeks — and after careful deliberation, the jury reached a unanimous verdict. They found Donald Trump guilty on all 34 felony counts.
“He will be given the opportunity, as he should, to appeal that decision, just like everyone else has that opportunity. That’s how the American system of justice works.”
Biden added: “It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, and it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this was rigged just because they don’t like the verdict.”
“Our justice system has endured for nearly 250 years, and it is literally a cornerstone of America,” he went on.
“The justice system should be respected, and we should never allow anyone to tear it down. It’s as simple as that. That’s America, that’s who we are, that’s who we always will be, God willing.”
Biden took no reporter questions but paused and grinned while leaving the room when a journalist shouted: “Donald Trump refers to himself as a political prisoner and blames you directly. What’s your response to that, sir?”
Trump was convicted of falsifying business records under a novel legal theory advanced by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, an elected Democrat.
The ex-president has noted repeatedly that the trial was presided over by Judge Juan Merchan, whom he denounced as “a devil” Friday morning, and whose daughter Loren has worked in Democratic politics, including for Manhattan and Brooklyn Rep. Dan Goldman, who was lead counsel in the first impeachment case against Trump in 2019.
The former president also has repeatedly pointed to the fact that former No. 3 Biden Justice Department official Michael Colangelo prosecuted the case.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, claimed Friday morning that Biden and his allies were using the legal system to derail his candidacy, as most national and swing-state polls show him leading Biden.
“This is all done by Biden and his people — maybe his people, more importantly, I don’t know that Biden knows too much about it because I don’t know if he knows about anything. But he’s nevertheless the president, so we have to use his name,” he said.
“It was a rigged trial,” added Trump, who noted that his attorneys unsuccessfully sought a venue change so the jury pool would not have been from Manhattan, where Biden took 84.5% of the vote in 2020.
Trump, 77, also slammed Merchan for restricting potential testimony from a would-be defense witness, former Federal Election Commission chairman Bradley Smith.
Trump faces three additional criminal cases, including federal charges in South Florida for allegedly mishandling national security documents, in Washington on charges of unlawfully conspiring to remain in power following the 2020 election and in Georgia on similar state election-related charges — though it’s unclear when or if any of those cases will go to trial.
Biden, like Trump, was investigated for allegedly mishandling classified documents over the span of decades after papers from his vice presidency and Senate tenure were found in his Wilmington, Del., home and post-vice presidency office in DC.
Special counsel Robert Hur wrote in a report released in February that he had developed evidence that Biden “willfully” mishandled national defense information — a crime — but that he should not face charges, in part because “at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
Biden returned to Washington Friday morning with his son Hunter, 54, who goes on trial Monday in Delaware for alleged federal gun crimes — becoming the first child of a sitting president in history to stand trial.
Hunter faces an additional federal trial in Los Angeles starting Sept. 5 for allegedly failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes between 2016 and 2019 on income from foreign business relationships in which he involved his father.
The younger Biden agreed to a probation-only plea deal to the alleged gun and tax crimes last June — shortly after a pair of IRS agents, Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler, alleged a Justice Department coverup to shield the first family and insulate Joe Biden from leads that pointed to his involvement.
The first son walked away from the bargain last July over demands for broader immunity for past conduct, including possible violations of the Foreign Agents Registration Act — which could implicate dad Joe.
