Topline

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) on Tuesday criticized President Joe Biden’s comments ahead of the Derek Chauvin verdict, going as far to accuse the president of providing grounds for a mistrial when he said he was “praying” for the “right” verdict while the sequestered jury was deciding the ex-cop’s fate.

Key Facts

Hours before the verdict came down Tuesday and with the jury sequestered, Biden told reporters in the Oval Office he was “praying” for the “right verdict,” which he added was “overwhelming” in his “view.”  

“I wouldn’t say that unless the jury was sequestered,” Biden added. 

On Twitter, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said Biden and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.)—who faced censure after telling protesters in Minnesota to “stay on the street” and “get more confrontational” if Chauvin were acquitted—had “foolishly” provided “grounds for a mistrial or a possible basis on appeal to challenge any guilty conviction.”

Chiming in on the criticism was former Trump White Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, who told Fox News on Tuesday that she was “glad” Biden had waited until the jury was sequestered, but, because the country is such a “tinderbox” right now, the president “should have just reserved comment and said he’s praying for the family.”

“It’s the role of the president of the United States to stay back, to not inflame the tensions,” McEnany added.

“RIP due process,” Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis wrote on Twitter linking to Biden’s comments and calling for the judge to declare a mistrial.

The White House did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment Wednesday. 

Crucial Quote

Asked to clarify Biden’s comments about the verdict, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Biden had “watched the trial closely” and “been moved” by his phone conversation with the Floyd family. “I don’t think he would see it as weighing in on the verdict,” Psaki added, just “expressing compassion” for the Floyd family.

Chief Critic

Ben Shapiro, a prominent conservative commentator, went a step further, calling it ludicrous that Biden sought to address the nation following the verdict. “It is fully insane that the president of the United States seeks to address the nation in the aftermath of individual criminal justice cases, but this is the new normal and has been since Ferguson,” Shapiro wrote on Twitter.

What To Watch For 

Whether Chauvin’s legal team argues for a mistrial. On Monday, the judge presiding over the Chauvin trial, Peter Cahill, told Chauvin attorney Eric Nelson that Waters’ comments could be grounds for an appeal. “I’ll give you that Congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” Cahill said. The jury was not sequestered when Waters traveled to Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, and told protesters to “get more confrontational.” Cahill went on to say that although he found Waters’ comments inappropriate, he did not think it would “prejudice this jury” because the statement of one congresswoman “really doesn’t matter a whole lot anyway.” 

Tangent

Waters’ comments outraged Republicans, with some calling for her removal from Congress. On Tuesday, the House voted along party lines to table a motion censuring Waters. “Every single House Democrat just voted to stand with Maxine Waters,” House Minority Whip Steve Scalise tweeted. “They made it clear: Democrats are fine with Democrat politicians inciting violence and chaos.”

Key Background

In some ways, Republicans’ criticism of Biden rewrites history. Former President Donald Trump frequently weighed in on judicial rulings while in office, once tweeting that his former campaign chairman Paul Manafort—who was facing criminal tax and bank fraud charges—was being treated worse than American gangster Al Capone. At the time, the jury was not sequestered. Trump Attorney General William Barr once complained that Trump’s tweets about the Roger Stone case made it “impossible for me to do my job.” In the aftermath of the George Floyd’s murder as protesters flooded cities across the country, Trump warned in a tweet that when the “looting starts, the shooting starts.” The message was flagged by Twitter for “glorifying violence.”

Further Reading