White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed President Joe Biden was not given a heads up about the Thursday indictment of former President Donald Trump, a presidential candidate.
“The president found out about the news yesterday just like every other American: through the news reports,” she said speaking with reporters on Friday.
“His Chief of Staff, Jeff Zients, let him know what had occurred through media reports — not given a heads up,” she added.
Biden refused to speak with reporters about the indictment on Friday before flying to Mississippi: “I have no comment on Trump.”
On Thursday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a member of Biden’s political party, was able to obtain an indictment from a New York grand jury to charge the leader of the opposition party with more than thirty violations, according to media reports.
While the indictment remains under seal, reports suggest Trump will be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.
It is not the first time Biden has said he has not been aware of things in his scope of concern. Biden claimed he has never spoken to Hunter Biden about the family’s business dealings.
When he was recently questioned about his family’s $1.3 collective payment from a Chinese entity, he claimed they were not paid — even though Hunter had confirmed it.
The White House’s denial of prior knowledge of Trump’s indictment comes as Trump said the charges were election interference. Biden will likely announce a 2024 bid in the coming months to challenge Trump if the latter wins the GOP primary.
“This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this,” Trump added.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
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