June 3, 2024 12:59 PM ET
Democrats refuse to compare Trump’s conviction to Hunter Biden’s trial
By Morgan Rimmer and Manu Raju, CNN
On Capitol Hill, Democrats are rejecting efforts to compare Hunter Biden’s trial to last week’s conviction of former President Donald Trump.
“Hunter Biden is not running for president. President Donald Trump is running for president,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who also noted that Democrats have not rushed to Hunter Biden’s defense in this criminal case or argued that the trial is a “sham,” as Republicans did in Trump’s trial.
“Democrats are not saying that Hunter Biden’s trial is a farce, a fraud, a rigged trial. We’re not attacking the justice system,” Raskin said.
“They do so because of the extraordinary cognitive dissonance of a party that claims to represent religious piety being embroiled in a sexual assaulter and con man who was just convicted by a jury for paying $130,000 in hush money to a porn star shortly after the birth of her fifth child. That is their party.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., agreed: “He’s not the president of the United States. He’s not a public figure.”
“Hunter Biden should therefore be held accountable for everything he did,” he said, adding that this “clearly does not compare to the numerous crimes committed by Donald Trump.”
Asked how Hunter’s trial might affect his father’s chances of election in November, Garcia responded: “I think the president loves his son. I think we all agree that Hunter made some mistakes and he has to take responsibility for those. I don’t think it has anything to do with the presidential election.”
