Former New York Gov. David Paterson (D) said that the criminal case against former President Donald Trump was faulty, echoing similar comments made by the former president after the guilty verdict was announced last week. The former governor’s statement also came as the Trump legal team is preparing to appeal the decision.
The former governor said that there were “erroneous qualities to that trial.”
“All of it, when it adds up, really looks very much like what the former president describes it as,” Paterson said during a media interview. Trump previously described the case as “rigged.”
While President Joe Biden cannot pardon state-level cases, Paterson said that if the president could, that he should.
The former governor implied that a pardon could be good for the country.
Paterson’s comments were similar in some ways to Trump’s own last Friday. During a press event the former president argued that the case was directed by the Biden administration.
Trump’s comments coincided with two of his attorneys highlighting the role of former Biden administration Department of Justice (DOJ) official Matthew Colangelo. Colangelo left his federal position to join the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D). Paterson also cited this potential conflict of interest.
“The weaponization of our legal system, the politicization of prosecution, these are all things that Pres. Trump absolutely has to comment on," former Pres. Trump's attorney Will Scharf tells @GStephanopoulos as Trump attacks the judge and some witnesses. https://t.co/C5tuMWw6kI pic.twitter.com/nqwTLe810P
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) June 2, 2024
The decision received considerable criticism from the Trump legal team, who implied that this was done as a political attack against Trump. The former president has argued several times that the criminal cases against him are intended to keep him off the campaign trail.
“This was done by the Biden administration in order to hurt an opponent, a political opponent, and I think it’s just a disgrace,” Trump said Friday. He further called New York Judge Juan Merchan “conflicted” and said that he should have never been able to oversee the case.
Despite this, the former president also said that a poll taken after the verdict was announced showed him leading Biden by 6%. He said that his campaign would continue no matter what happened.
“We’ll keep fighting. We’ll fight till the end, and we’ll win because our country’s gone to hell,” Trump said.
