May 31, 2024 12:53 PM
Vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance vows to support Trump and insists the former president did nothing wrong
From CNN’s Elise Hammond
Senator J.D. Vance looks on as former President Donald Trump speaks to the media during his trial on charges of concealing hush money payments, in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 13 in New York City.
Mark Peterson/Pool/Getty Images
Republican Sen. J.D. Vance said he would support former President Donald Trump after the president was convicted on criminal charges on Thursday. Vance, who is on the list of possible vice presidential candidates, said he would do anything he could to help Trump, the Republican front-runner.
The Ohio lawmaker argued that the hush money trial was not about pursuing justice but about “putting the words ‘convicted felon’ on the airwaves.”
Vance complained about Judge Juan Marchand and the jury instructions and said the trial should not have taken place in Manhattan. Trump and his allies argue that Trump could not get a fair trial in New York.
Marchant also argued that the matter was political because he donated to Biden in 2020. Marchan had previously donated $15 to the Biden campaign, and gave two separate $10 donations, one to the voter advocacy group Progressive Turnout Project and the other to Stop Republicans, a subsidiary of the Progressive Turnout Project.
“This trial cannot be described as anything more than politics masquerading as justice,” Vance said, adding that the charges against Trump should trouble Americans of both parties.
“I believe Donald Trump has done nothing wrong. But [Manhattan District Attorney] “Alvin Bragg’s allegations, if taken at face value, suggest that Donald Trump committed a paper violation,” Vance said.
