Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania) has shockingly revealed his support for President Joe Biden and announced his support for President-elect Donald Trump following Sunday's controversial blanket pardon for his eldest son Hunter. supported amnesty.
Appearing on ABC's “The View,” Fetterman was asked by co-host Joy Behar about his thoughts on Biden, who has changed his mind about his sons' criminal cases.
“While there's no denying that the lawsuit against Hunter Biden was indeed politically motivated, I think it's also true that Trump's trial in New York was politically motivated as well.” the senator said.
Fetterman argued that Hunter's indictment brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Trump's “hush money” trial were both conducted by a “weaponized” judicial system that went after political opponents. did.
The 55-year-old suggested in May that the outgoing president should waive all 34 felonies for which Trump was convicted.
“I think a pardon is appropriate in both cases,” Fetterman clarified.
The Keystone state senator believes the trials against the younger Biden and former and future presidents have tainted the public's view of the justice system.
“America's confidence in these types of institutions is undermined by these types of incidents, and we cannot allow these types of institutions to be used as weapons against political opponents,” he said.
“Both trials were clearly politically motivated, and these kinds of charges would never have been brought unless either side realized they could use it as a weapon.”
Fetterman criticized Biden's pardon as undermining the party's view that the criminal justice system can give convicted felons a second chance after a prison sentence.
Fetterman is not the only prominent Democratic lawmaker to criticize the 82-year-old commander-in-chief's family's intervention in his son's conviction.
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the lame-duck president for backtracking on his promise not to pardon Hunter after a federal jury found him guilty of a firearms felony in June.
“Given everything the president and his family have been through, the instinct to want to protect Hunter is completely understandable.” Newsom told Politico Mr. Biden lost two children.
“But I took the president at his word,” he added. “So, understandably, I am disappointed and cannot support this decision.”
Several top Democratic donors have threatened to withhold future funding because of Biden's decision, even suggesting compensation similar to Fetterman's own view: pardoning Trump. .
As President Trump, 78, prepares to return to the White House in January, four criminal cases are beginning to wind down.
Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan postponed sentencing in the “hush money” trial, days after Bragg agreed to suspend sentencing following Trump's Nov. 5 election victory.
Mr. Marchand ordered Mr. Bragg and Mr. Trump's lawyers to file arguments in December on whether the case should be thrown out before the court rules.
Trump's lawyers have asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to dismiss the criminal case accusing him of election interference, citing presidential immunity when he takes office again in January.
The president-elect and 14 others were indicted on racketeering charges in 2023 by scandal-scarred Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for allegedly trying to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in the Peach State. Mr. Trump has denied the allegations.
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has granted Special Counsel Jack Smith's motion to dismiss criminal charges against President Donald Trump, who alleges that the then-president tried to subvert the country after the 2020 presidential election.
Mr. Smith's motion was based on Mr. Trump's election victory and precedent for indicting a sitting U.S. president.
Mr. Smith filed similar motions in President Trump's Florida classified documents case.
“As a result of the election held on November 5, 2024, Donald J. Trump, one of the defendants in this case, will be certified as the next president on January 6, 2025, and is scheduled to take office on January 20, 2025. ” Smith wrote to the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.
