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The fallout continued after Donald Trump’s historic conviction on 34 counts in New York. Both Trump and President Biden have weighed in on the verdict as the two prepare for a rematch in November. As Lisa Desjardins reports, the GOP rushed to line up its presumptive nominee.
Note: Transcripts are generated through machines and humans and are modified for accuracy. They would possibly involve mistakes.
Geoff Bennett:
Welcome to NewsHour.
The fallout continued after Donald Trump’s historic conviction on 34 counts in New York.
Amna Nawaz:
Both former president and President Joe Biden have weighed in on the verdict as the two prepare for a rematch in November.
And, as Lisa Desjardins reports, the GOP was quick to line up its presumptive nominee.
Donald Trump, former U. S. president (right) and U. S. presidential candidate: This is a scam. It’s a rigged trial.
Lisa Desjardins:
From former President Donald Trump, a defiant 33-minute speech a day after he was found guilty of 34 criminal counts of tampering with business records.
Donald Trump:
He hasn’t been in this room. We have not had this judge.
Lisa Desjardins:
At Trump Tower, the Republican reiterated his complaints against the decision to try the prosecutor involved in the case. And he overcame the barriers of a gag order still in effect punishing his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, but not by his name.
Donald Trump:
He’s a sordid one. All of that.
Lisa Desjardins:
The would-be Republican presidential nominee claimed that his case had been handled by others. And he once again blamed the Biden administration, but without any direct evidence and without acknowledging that his own team helped pick the New York jury that unanimously convicted him.
President Biden reacted to the verdict by saying that no one is above the law.
Joe Biden, President of the United States: It’s reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s irresponsible for anyone to say this is rigged just because they don’t like the verdict.
Lisa Desjardins:
As Trump prepares for his call, his base is talking in dollars. His crusade said it raised about $35 million in the hours after the verdict, and at one point an online fundraising page was taken down.
NORTHEAST. MARCO RUBIO (R-FL):
He was elected president last night.
Lisa Desjardins:
The parade of Republican officials who had supported Trump in the courtroom criticized the outcome.
House Speaker Mike Johnson made a direct plea before the nation’s High Court.
Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA):
I think this Supreme Court is blatantly intervening. This is unprecedented and detrimental to our system.
Lisa Desjardins:
But prominent Republican, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is lately running for the U. S. Senate, wrote on social media: “I urge all Americans to respect the verdict. “
In just over an hour, Trump’s most level-headed adviser replied dryly, “You’ve just finished your campaign,” a sign of the threat and retaliation faced by those who break with Trump.
Democrats, along with Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin, have focused heavily on the rule of law.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD):
You know, my first reaction: thank God for the jury’s formula. It is a wonderful victory for the formula of justice in liberal democracy.
Lisa Desjardins:
Today, even as a convicted felon, Trump continues. The Constitution does not impose any restrictions on their right to run. And as a Florida resident, you can vote in November, as long as you don’t go to jail. But if elected, Trump wouldn’t forgive himself, because those are state crimes, not federal ones.
The sentencing, which adds a conceivable criminal penalty, is scheduled for July 11, a week before he officially accepts the Republican nomination for president.
For PBS NewsHour, my name is Lisa Desjardins.
Lisa Desjardins is a correspondent for PBS News Hour, where she covers news from the U. S. Capitol as she travels across the country to report on how other people where they live and work make decisions in Washington.
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