Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio explained his objections to the “sham” trial of former President Donald Trump to CNN host Wolf Blitzer on Friday.
A jury convicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsification of business records Thursday. Vance outlined several objections he had with the trial, including New York Judge Juan Merchan’s donation to the Biden campaign in 2020, and told Blitzer that the purpose of the trial was to label Trump as a convicted felon.
“My complaint is with the judge, with the jury instructions that were clearly reversible, with the fact that the judge had donated to the Biden campaign, which should force a recusal under the New York rules for the judge, the fact that his daughter has gotten,” Vance said before Blitzer interjected, noting the donation was $15.
WATCH:
.@JDVance1: “This judge committed multiple elements of reversible error and he did it while his daughter has made a ton of money off of democratic candidates.” pic.twitter.com/rdMcWZedpw
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) May 31, 2024
Merchan donated $15 to Biden’s presidential campaign in 2020, and made two $10 donations to the Democratic groups “Stop Republicans” and “Progressive Turnout Project” via ActBlue, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records.
“Please let me answer the question,” Vance said. “This judge committed multiple elements of reversible error and he did it while his daughter has made a ton of money off of Democratic candidates and while he himself donated to the Biden campaign, you cannot say that this trial was anything more than politics masquerading as justice.”
Later in the segment, the two discussed a Thursday post on X from former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland urging Americans to “respect the verdict” from the proceedings.
“We need to criticize and call this ridiculous legal proceeding out,” Vance said. “Larry Hogan’s trying to win a Senate race in blue seat. Obviously, I disagree with Larry Hogan, the problem is not criticizing the sham prosecution. The problem is the sham prosecution itself and we need leadership to call it out.”
