Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

John Fetterman Says Bragg’s Case Against Trump Was ‘Politically Motivated’ During Appearance On ‘The View’

[Screenshot/The View]

Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman stated that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against President-elect Donald Trump was “politically motivated” during a Thursday segment on “The View.”

The senator argued that a pardon is “appropriate” for Bragg’s case and the criminal prosecution against President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, as they were both brought about for political purposes. He argued the politicization of both cases has led to a growing distrust in U.S. institutions among the American public.

“I think it’s undeniable that the case against Hunter Biden was really politically motivated, but I also think it’s true that the trial in New York for Trump [was] political too,” Fetterman said. “In both cases, I think a pardon is appropriate and I think collectively, I think Americans’ confidence in these institutions have been damaged by these kinds of cases and we can’t allow these kinds of institutions to be weaponized against our political opponents and it’s very clear, both trials were politically motivated and weaponized on the other side.”

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A New York jury convicted Trump in May on 13 counts alleging that he falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 non-disclosure payment to former porn actress Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. The now-president-elect repeatedly stated that the New York case, along with the three other criminal indictments against him, were an attempt by the Democrats to interfere in the 2024 election.

A Delaware jury convicted Hunter Biden on three felony counts over his purchase of a gun in October 2018 while knowingly under the influence of drugs and for submitting false information on the gun purchase form. He faced nine charges in California for allegedly failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes from 2016 to 2019.

Co-host Joy Behar argued that Trump will use that same argument in order to pardon those who rioted at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. The president-elect told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins in May 2023 that he intended to pardon a “large portion” of the rioters upon winning reelection, a promise he continued to make throughout his presidential campaign.

The Pennsylvania senator confirmed that he was not referring to the Capitol rioters, and said the cases against Hunter Biden and Trump would “never have been brought” if their political opponents lacked the ability to weaponize American institutions for their political benefit. He criticized his own party for celebrating Trump’s conviction in May in order to tout that the Republican presidential nominee is a convicted felon.

“I’m talking about the New York trial, and Democrats on our side, there were some that were gleeful [saying] ‘well now he’s a convicted felon’ and all of those things, and now for our party we are talking about criminal justice and we were talking about second chances and now all of a sudden, you’re like ‘well now he’s a convicted felon’ and all of these things,” the senator continued. “So clearly, both of those trials, the Hunter Biden one and the trial in New York for Trump, clearly that was politically motivated and those kinds of charges would have never have been brought unless one side could one day realize that they could weaponize that.”

Biden said in a Sunday statement that his son was “singled out” and unfairly prosecuted by his political opponents, arguing that very few Americans get prosecuted for writing false information on a form or paying back their taxes past the due date.