Sen. J.D. Vance, describing the jurors as coming from “extremely left-wing jurisdictions,” declared Sunday that the New York jury convictions in the E. Jean Carroll defamation and sexual assault cases against President Donald Trump were invalid.
A longtime “Never Trumper,” Vance (R-Ohio) now wholeheartedly supports the former president, who is originally from New York City. Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million in damages to advice columnist Carroll, and he is at the center of a slew of legal cases that will play out this year as part of his 2024 campaign.
“This case, like so many legal cases against Donald Trump, they’re trumped up — they’re in extremely left-wing jurisdictions, or it’s actually the Biden administration prosecuting his chief political rival,” Vance told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on “This Week.”
“George, if you look at all of these examples, the through line is double. No. 1, they’re funded by Donald Trump’s political opponents, and the purpose isn’t to facilitate a genuine discussion about how to move the country forward. Their goal is to beat Trump in court because they know they won’t be able to defeat him at the polls,” he told Stephanopoulos.
Stephanopoulos challenged Vance on whether he thought any verdicts rendered by a panel of ordinary folks in New York City would be fair. “Well, when the cases are funded by left-wing donors and when the case has absolute left-wing bias all over it, George, absolutely I think that we should call into question that particular conclusion,” he went on to say.
The stance is similar to that of the former president, who denounced the verdict in a post on his website Truth Social.
“Completely ludicrous! I completely disagree with both rulings and will fight the entire Biden-directed witch hunt targeting me and the Republican Party. Our legal system is out of control and is being exploited as a political weapon. They have taken away all First Amendment rights. “This is not America!” Trump wrote.
When asked about charges that Trump supporters condone sexual assault and slander, Vance claimed the comment was unjust to victims.
“I think it’s actually very unfair to the victims of sexual assault, to say that somehow their lives are being worse by electing Donald Trump for president, when what he’s trying to do, I think, is restore prosperity,” he said.
“I believe most Americans understand that this is not what we want to fight over in the 2024 election. “Let’s fight over issues,” Vance stated.