Will Scharf, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, emphasized Sunday that the Biden administration stood firmly behind Trump’s prosecution, as did ABC’s. George Stephenopoulos returned to that idea.
During his speech on “This Week,” Scharf responded to Stephanopoulos, saying, “Of course the Manhattan attorney general has nothing to do with the Justice Department,” arguing in response, “I strongly disagree that the New York District Attorney I am not politically motivated here, and I strongly disagree that President Biden and his political allies are not up to their necks in this prosecution.”
Stephanopoulos responded: “There’s no evidence for this, sir. … I’m not going to let you keep saying that – there’s no evidence for that whatsoever.”
After some more jousting on the matter, the ABC host tried to bring Scharf back to a question he had asked. “This has nothing to do with President Biden,” he said. “Do you want to answer the question about the criminal trial or not?”
“I strongly disagree that this has nothing to do with President Biden,” Scharf said. “Regarding the conviction, as I said before, we will vigorously challenge this case on appeal. “I don’t think President Trump will ultimately be subject to any punishment whatsoever.”
In discussing the appeals process, Scharf made clear that Trump’s appeal of his 34-count conviction would focus on two areas: Judge Juan Merchan’s decision not to recuse amid appearances of bias, and Merchan’s instructions to the jury.
Stephanpoulos pointed out that Scharf himself had praised the jury instructions before deliberations took place.
“I’m thinking: hope for the best, plan for the worst, George. But I think when you look at the totality of the circumstances of this case,” Scharf responded, “this is a prosecution that should never have been brought. “I think we have a lot of fair complaints about the way this process was conducted, and I think President Trump will ultimately be vindicated on appeal.”
In discussing the effectiveness of the defense team’s legal strategies, Scharf also said it “would have been dangerous” for Trump to testify on his behalf, but that he would have been an effective witness if he had testified.
On Thursday, Scharf sharply criticized the verdict immediately after the verdict.
“This is a tragic day in the history of the American Republic,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “President Trump’s conviction proves one thing: that Joe Biden and his allies have weaponized our justice system to prosecute their chief political opponent. We will appeal quickly, and we will win on appeal because this case is meritless, without merit, and without merit. should never have seen the inside of an American courtroom.”
