Among the multitude of overjoyed news reporters, Friday's CBS Mornings was no exception, but Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) burst some bubbles, while explaining many parts of the trial which were either downplayed or ignored outright.
Cotton explained to co-host Tony Dokoupil that the verdict from Trump's trial will mean little overall in November and strongly criticized its legitimacy:
Because this was a sham, rigged political show trial from the very beginning. You have a prosecutor who campaigned on the promise to get Trump on anything. You have a judge who's literally a Joe Biden donor who rigged the rulings at every turn to include, for instance, a gag order while the President was on the campaign trail. But as President Trump just said or you just heard him say, the real verdict is going to come on November 5, and it's going to be made by the American people, and it's going to be based on things like Joe Biden's record of runaway inflation and a wide open Southern border and war and chaos all around the world. And they will see through this sham trial that was designed from the very beginning to be election interference because Joe Biden knows he can't win on his own failed record.
It was no surprise Dokoupil and featured co-host Vladimir Duthiers were not pleased with Cotton’s remarks, questioning his view of the trial, his civics and whether he objects purely because his candidate did not win:
DOKOUPIL: Senator, you're a Harvard law school grad. Are you saying that Americans can no longer place their trust in their judicial system?
(...)
DUTHIERS: Are you telling the American people then, that if an outcome with a jury of the former President's peers is not to your liking it's a rigged judicial system? If an election is not won by your preferred candidate, then the entire election system in the United States is rigged. Is that the civics lesson that we're now sharing with the American people?
To all of these absurd questions, Cotton calmly disbanded these overreaches, noting he’s just talking about the trial:
Again, you had a judge who literally donated to Joe Biden's campaign in 2020. And a prosecutor who promised on the campaign trail that he was going to get Donald Trump. And just look at some of the rulings in this case. They refused, for instance, to let President Trump put on all of his evidence. They gave jury instructions that didn't even require a unanimous verdict. They never even revealed the underlying crime that Donald Trump supposedly covered up. It's unconstitutional from the beginning.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CBS Mornings
05/31/2024
07:30:25 AM ET
TONY DOKOUPIL: 7:30 here on CBS Mornings. We expect to hear more from former President Trump later today after, of course, he was found guilty in that historic, that unprecedented trial here in New York City which ended yesterday. A jury of 12 New Yorkers convicted him. 34 times over, of creating false business records to hide a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump's supporters denounced that verdict, and Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas was one of them. He called it a travesty of justice and said, quote, "the American people will see right through Joe Biden and the Democrats' weaponization of the legal system." And Senator Tom Cotton joins us now for more. Senator Cotton, thank you so much for being here. So, the leader of one of America's two great political parties is now a convicted felon. Does that change anything for you in this campaign?
SEN. TOM COTTON: No, not at all, Tony, because this was a sham, rigged political show trial from the very beginning. You have a prosecutor who campaigned on the promise to get Trump on anything. You have a judge who's literally a Joe Biden donor who rigged the rulings at every turn to include, for instance, a gag order while the President was on the campaign trail. But as President Trump just said or you just heard him say, the real verdict is going to come on November 5, and it's going to be made by the American people, and it's going to be based on things like Joe Biden's record of runaway inflation and a wide open Southern border and war and chaos all around the world. And they will see through this sham trial that was designed from the very beginning to be election interference because Joe Biden knows he can't win on his own failed record
DOKOUPIL: Sen -- Senator, let's talk about the trial, though. Because you know, the points you've been making, they all went through a legal system, there were reviews, there were checks. In America, you're guaranteed a process, not an outcome. What do you say to people who hear you speaking this morning and think this is a guy who doesn’t like the outcome and so, he's complaining about the process?
COTTON: Again, you had a judge who literally donated to Joe Biden's campaign in 2020. And a prosecutor who promised on the campaign trail that he was going to get Donald Trump. And just look at some of the rulings in this case. They refused, for instance, to let President Trump put on all of his evidence. They gave jury instructions that didn't even require a unanimous verdict. They never even revealed the underlying crime that Donald Trump supposedly covered up. It's unconstitutional from the beginning. It was an effort to rush this case to trial because they knew it was the only case of all of these sham charges against President Trump that could go to trial before the election. The American people see that, and I'm confident that they're going to elect Donald Trump to a second term because they are tired of Joe Biden's weak, failed record.
DOKOUPIL: Senator, you're a Harvard law school grad. Are you saying that Americans can no longer place their trust in their judicial system?
COTTON: Well, when the Democrats have weaponized the legal system against President Trump, not just in New York but in Washington, D.C., and in Florida, as well, many Americans do have doubts about the integrity of our legal system. This is one of the reasons it's such a sad day for America is that the Democrats are making America look like a Banana Republic.
DOKOUPIL: So –
COTTON: Going after the leader of the opposition is something you would expect to see in a country like Georgia or Pakistan, not the United States of America. And as President Trump has said repeatedly, if it can happen to him it can happen to anyone, just like it's happened, for instance, to parents protesting at school boards for what their kids are learning.
DOKOUPIL: – Senator, Senator, I want – I want to stick to the trial and the result. You know, some of the allegations you made are true, some of them are half true. All of them went through this judicial process, and there's still an appeals process, so the day will come when Donald Trump and his lawyers will be able to make these points publicly. On the political front, I am curious as a potential VP pick for the former President, does it give you pause to be potentially on the ticket with now a convicted felon?
COTTON: No. I support Donald Trump more strongly than ever because, again, he was being charged with these sham indictments precisely because he's the Republican nominee for President. Precisely because he is the leader of a party that's going to help repair the damage that the Democrats have inflicted on working families for the last four years. So I'm going to continue to support Donald Trump strongly, work to elect him to the White House, work to elect a working Republican majority to the Congress to help implement an agenda that will begin to repair the damage that Joe Biden has inflicted on America.
VLADIMIR DUTHIERS: Senator, it's Vlad. I just want to hone in a little bit on what Tony was suggesting. Are you telling the American people then, that if an outcome with a jury of the former President's peers is not to your liking then it's a rigged judicial system? If an election is not won by your preferred candidate, then the entire election system in the United States is rigged. Is that the civics lesson that we're now sharing with the American people?
COTTON: Well, Vlad, let's be clear. I respect the jury system. I followed the evidence in this case very closely, though. I think the jury made a mistake in no small part because you had a partisan judge misleading them every single turn. He gave them instructions that they didn't even have to unanimously find that President Trump covered up a specific crime. He didn't let them see the evidence that President Trump wanted to put in the case. He didn't force this prosecutor, who himself had campaigned on getting President Trump, to reveal the underlying crime on which President Trump was supposedly accused. All of these things were a way to direct the jury to this verdict. The blame here rests with the judge and the prosecutor and the Democrats who weaponized the legal system against President Trump.
MICHELLE MILLER: Senator, Michelle Miller here. I'm curious, in the last 24 hours, have you spoken to the former President? And if so, what did he talk to you about and did it venture into whether or not you would be his running mate?
COTTON: No, I haven't spoken to President Trump since the verdict. But I do believe that what he said to the American people immediately after the public is what really matters here. That the verdict is going to be rendered by them on November 5th. And I'm confident that they're going to re-elect President Trump to a second term because they want a change in direction. And I know that's where he's focused, as well.
MILLER: Have you spoken to him at all about being his running mate?
COTTON: No. I haven't spoken to President Trump or anyone in the Trump campaign about his vice presidential selection or any selections for his administration. I don't think that's productive at this case – at this point. I think we all need to be focused on helping the President win in November. Helping elect Republican majorities to Congress –
MILLER: Alright.
COTTON: – so we can again begin to deliver on the promises that we've made to the American people and repair the damage that Joe Biden has inflicted on working families across this country.
MILLER: All right, Senator Cotton, thank you.
