Last week, a jury in New York found former President Donald Trump guilty of falsifying business records, according to NPR News.
In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press, U.S Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee said he does not believe Trump was given a fair trial.
“This case was rigged from the very beginning. You had Alvin Bragg who campaigned on getting Donald Trump. You had the judge, a literal Biden donor, and in return he ruled in favor of the prosecution.”
According to the New York Times, Judge Juan Merchan, who oversaw Trump’s trial, donated $15 to the Biden campaign and $10 to a group called Stop Republicans. Prior to the trial, a New York judicial ethics committee said that Merchan did not need to recuse himself because of his political donations, according to Reuters.
Trump has said he will file an appeal of his conviction.
Cotton said he also believes the justice system has been weaponized by Democrats to go after their political opponents. He said the conviction of Trump in New York was the latest example of that.
“He’s an innocent man who did nothing wrong. This judge again violated New York Rules by giving money to Joe Biden in 2020 specifically to stop Donald Trump. I hope the Court of Appeals of New York actually applies the law in an even-handed way, as opposed to what this judge did and what Joe Biden’s Department of Justice has done, which is bending the rule to stop Donald Trump,” he said.
Since President Joe Biden has taken office, the U.S Department of Justice has prosecuted U.S Sen. Robert Menendez and U.S Rep. Henry Cuellar who are both Democrats. The Justice Department has also prosecuted Hunter Biden, the president’s son.
Cotton has been viewed by the national media as a potential vice presidential pick for Trump. Cotton has said he is not focused on becoming vice president.
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