White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre raised eyebrows on Tuesday with a perplexing answer about Donald Trump’s hush money trial.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke outside the Manhattan courthouse where Trump’s trial is taking place to show his support for the former president. Johnson called the trial a “sham” and a “travesty of justice,” declared Trump “innocent,” and said Trump’s opposition is “doing this intentionally to keep him here and keep him off of the campaign trail.”
‘At least they’re being honest for once!’
Later in the day, a reporter asked Jean-Pierre if the Biden administration believes it was “appropriate” for Speaker Johnson to defend Trump outside the courthouse.
Unsurprisingly, the press secretary refused to offer comment — but her reasoning did surprise.
“I don’t want to comment, obviously, as this is related to 2024 elections,” Jean-Pierre said.
The assertion that Trump’s trial — regarding allegations of falsifying business records nearly a decade ago, which Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) has attempted to spin as a case of election interference — is related to this year’s election led to accusations that Jean-Pierre accidentally revealed the motive behind the Trump criminal cases.
“Even @JoeBiden’s top spokesperson knows what this trial is all about,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said. “It’s not about upholding the law. It’s about throwing Biden’s top political opponent in jail because Biden can’t beat him in November. At least they’re being honest for once!”
“The motive: need I say more?” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) reacted.
Stephen Miller, a former top Trump administration adviser, argued, “This is what they call a confession.”
The Republican Party, meanwhile, accused Jean-Pierre of accidentally saying the “quiet part out loud” and asserted that she admitted to “election interference.”
What made Jean-Pierre’s response unusual is that she did not refuse to comment on the basis of an ongoing legal proceeding — which is the typical response for an ongoing criminal trial — but on the basis of politics.
As a matter of law, Trump’s trial should not be “related” to the 2024 election, aside from the fact that Trump is the leading Republican candidate for the president.
Few Americans, meanwhile, believe that Trump is being treated like other criminal defendants, according to a CNN poll, while a majority are skeptical that Trump is receiving a fair trial.
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Kjp, Karine jean-pierre, Trump trial, Election 2024, Donald trump, Mike johnson, Politics