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Salon
Salon
Politics
Griffin Eckstein

"Outrage": Pence blasts Trump conviction

Former Vice President Mike Pence weighed in on Donald Trump’s 34 felony count conviction, undermining the verdict of 12 New York jurors who found that the former president falsified business records.

"The conviction of former President Trump on politically motivated charges is an outrage and disservice to the nation," Pence told Fox News. "No one is above the law, but our courts must not become a tool to be used against political opponents . . . To millions of Americans, this was nothing more than a political prosecution driven by a Manhattan DA who ran for office on a pledge to indict the former president and this conviction undermines confidence in our system of justice."

With this verdict that Pence is railing against, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, led by Alvin Bragg, became the first municipality to prosecute the former president, convincing jurors — who proved themselves to be unbiased enough to avoid dismissal by Trump’s legal team during selection — beyond a reasonable doubt. 

Bragg rejected claims that the prosecution was politically motivated during a Thursday press conference, noting the years of investigation ramping up to the verdict, saying, “I did my job.”

Pence, whose faith in the justice system was seemingly unshaken after his former boss bucked all accountability and went so far as to allegedly call for his execution as his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021, said the jury verdict would further divide the country.

The search for his replacement on the third Trump ticket is still underway, with a running mate expected in time for the July Republican National Convention.

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