WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Monday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s criminal case against former President Donald Trump was filed on the “timeline” of the Justice Department — only for President Biden’s top spokesperson to tell The Post she misspoke.
Jean-Pierre made the comment during her regular press briefing when pressed on the perception that the case against Trump was brought for political reasons because Bragg, an elected Democrat, filed charges nearly seven years after Trump bought porn star Stormy Daniels’ silence in 2016 about a purported affair.
Trump, 78, has repeatedly claimed the case against him was “rigged” and brought in coordination with the Justice Department to harm him ahead of his anticipated Nov. 5 rematch against Biden.
“The president talks about threats to democracy,” began reporter Edward Lawrence of Fox Business Network.
“How is it not a threat to democracy when you have a prosecutor from the same political party as the president waiting seven years … to prosecute in an election year a former president who is now an opponent?” Lawrence asked.
“That’s a question for the Department of Justice on their timeline and how this moves. I can’t answer that for you here,” Jean-Pierre replied — even though the Justice Department has denied being involved in Bragg’s decision to bring the case.
Jean-Pierre told The Post after the briefing that she “meant Bragg” when she was answering Lawrence’s question.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt insisted: “This wasn’t a misspeak as the White House claims, this was another example of KJP not knowing what the hell is going on, just like her boss, Crooked Joe.”
Trump was convicted May 30 on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal evidence that he paid $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her agreeing not to publicly discuss an alleged 2006 tryst with the real estate mogul.
The 45th president is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11 — four days ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
Trump has repeatedly pointed to the fact that former No. 3 Biden Justice Department official Michael Colangelo prosecuted the case after joining Bragg’s office.
The ex-president has also noted repeatedly that the trial was presided over by Judge Juan Merchan, 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 him in 2019.
