Manchin weighs in on risks involved in indicting Trump

"No one's above the law," says Manchin. "But no one should be targeted by the law"

By Kelly McClure

Nights & Weekends Editor

Published April 2, 2023 2:52PM (EDT)

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks during an event with the Economic Club of Washington at the Capitol Hilton Hotel October 26, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) speaks during an event with the Economic Club of Washington at the Capitol Hilton Hotel October 26, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

During a segment of CNN's "State of the Union," Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., spoke to Dana Bash about the risks involved in indicting a former president.

Voicing his opinions on this historical case, Manchin said, "It's a very sad time for America to go through what we're going through now. People being divided, they think that justice may be biased, and we have to make sure that we wait and see what comes out next week."

According to NBC, Trump is expected to travel to New York on Monday where he'll stay overnight at Trump Tower in Manhattan before his arraignment on Tuesday. In conjunction with this, a rally will be held that same day in NY "to protest the political persecution of President Donald J. Trump by Soros-backed DA Alvin Bragg," as announced on Sunday by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

"No one's above the law," furthers Manchin. "But no one should be targeted by the law. Especially through the political process."

Highlighted in his look into the events of next week, Manchin expressed a hope that prosecutors are very thorough in what they do, so that people can have faith in the judicial system.

"You have to remove all doubt," he continued. "You have to make sure. Cross every 'T' and dot every 'I,' as they say. But you know that no person — a president, myself, or anybody else in Congress — no matter what your status is in the United States of America, you're not above the law. But, on the other hand, no person should be targeted by the law either. So let's make sure that's cleared up and let's see where it goes."


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Speaking more on the worry over judicial bias that Manchin mentioned in his segment, Trump defense lawyer, Joe Tacopina, voiced opinions of his own.

Responding to a question from Bash about the judge that will be presiding over Trump's arraignment, Judge Juan Merchan, Tacopina said, "We are gonna take the indictment, evaluate all our legal options, and pursue every one most vigorously. This is a case of political persecution. Had he [Trump] not been running for office right now . . . he would not have been indicted."


By Kelly McClure

Kelly McClure is Salon's Nights and Weekends Editor covering daily news, politics and culture. Her work has also appeared in Vulture, Vanity Fair, Vice and many other outlets that don't start with the letter V. She is the author of one sad book called "Something Is Always Happening Somewhere." Follow her on Bluesky: @WolfieVibes

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