Ignoring the fact that Special Council David Weiss was set to give Hunter Biden a sweetheart deal to avoid his felony gun charges (and let the statute of limitations expire on other charges) before the judge rejected the deal, CBS Mornings spent part of their Wednesday newscast having chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett lecture their viewers about how the convictions of Biden and former President Trump represented “the facts and the law” winning the day.
Teeing up Garrett, co-host Tony Dokoupil chided Trump for not accepting his convictions and “promis[ing] to fight [them]” in appeal; giving the false impression that Hunter was rolling over for his by conflating Trump (the subject of the case) with President Biden (the father of the subject):
You know, when Donald Trump was convicted, he called the decision rigged. He promised to fight it. With President Joe Biden he said he would accept this result in his son's case, and he wouldn't pardon him. So, there's a contrast there. But politics is all around this. So, talk to us if you could about the intersection between our judicial system and the political world these days.
Hunter’s legal team had signaled that they too planned on appealing the convictions, just like Trump’s.
Garrett responded by trying to make both trials about how the legal system treated wealthy elites writ-large and dismissed the naked political nature of the Trump trial (Click “expand”):
We've always debated what justice means in America, Tony and everyone. Typically, that has been about how does justice affect the powerless. We have rarely had a conversation – except maybe when business executives or celebrities are involved – about how the powerful operate in the judicial system. And we've never had a conversation about the judicial system taking to task someone who is a former president or a sitting president's son. And that creates for the country an entire debate about what does justice mean and does it apply equally.
And President Biden and those around him say it does apply equal, no one is above the law. Former President Trump wants the country to believe that this entire system, our entire judicial network, is a raid against one person in this country and one person only: former President Trump. And some Republicans echo that.
What Garrett obfuscated from CBS viewers was the fact that Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg had gotten elected to his office by promising to send Trump to prison. He also omitted the fact that the judge overseeing the trial had donated to the Biden campaign in 2020.
“But this dual application of justice at the highest levels of political power with a president staring across the courtroom at jurors or a first lady staring across the courtroom at jurors, and juries, the intervening force, rendering verdicts based on the facts and the law remind the country that the justice system remains,” Garrett bloviated. “Politics may swirl around it, but this a fundamental aspect of our American life, and – though it will be debated – remains so.”
Democratic Party donor and vacation pal of the Obamas, Gayle King wanted Garret to answer if he saw “this verdict having a political impact for either President Biden or President Trump?”
Garrett gave away the game in regards as to why the left needed to own and downplay the issue of a politicized justice system; the final tally for the 2024 election hinged on the margins:
And just remember this: of the six most important battleground states, not one of them was decided by more than three percentage points. Four were decided by 1.2 percentage points or less. Any small shift in any of those states – as it regards to these verdicts – could affect the presidential election.
Garrett’s analysis mirrored what a Media Research Center/Polling Company poll discovered following the 2020 election in that the media’s omission of key details and damaging stories aided the Biden campaign to victory.
The transcript is below. Click "expand" to read:
CBS Mornings
June 12, 2024
7:05:32 a.m. EasternTONY DOKOUPIL: We are joined by CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett for more on all this. Major, good morning to you.
You know, when Donald Trump was convicted, he called the decision rigged. He promised to fight it. With President Joe Biden he said he would accept this result in his son's case, and he wouldn't pardon him. So, there's a contrast there. But politics is all around this. So, talk to us if you could about the intersection between our judicial system and the political world these days.
MAJOR GARRETT: We've always debated what justice means in America, Tony and everyone. Typically, that has been about how does justice affect the powerless. We have rarely had a conversation – except maybe when business executives or celebrities are involved – about how the powerful operate in the judicial system. And we've never had a conversation about the judicial system taking to task someone who is a former president or a sitting president's son. And that creates for the country an entire debate about what does justice mean and does it apply equally.
And President Biden and those around him say it does apply equal, no one is above the law. Former President Trump wants the country to believe that this entire system, our entire judicial network, is a raid against one person in this country and one person only: former President Trump. And some Republicans echo that.
But this dual application of justice at the highest levels of political power with a president staring across the courtroom at jurors or a first lady staring across the courtroom at jurors, and juries, the intervening force, rendering verdicts based on the facts and the law remind the country that the justice system remains. Politics may swirl around it, but this a fundamental aspect of our American life, and – though it will be debated – remains so.
GAYLE KING: That's a good reminder for all of us, Major. You know, do you see this verdict having a political impact for either President Biden or President Trump? President Trump because he's always said the system is rigged, certainly rigged against Republicans. It would be hard for him to use that argument now considering this conviction of Hunter Biden.
GARRETT: Something that Republicans, Gayle, will privately acknowledge though some of the Trump allies will say, “No, it's still a two-tiered system of justice.” But the American public is going to make up its own mind about this. And our polling unit and lots of polling teams will try to assess what the country thinks about this. I believe that's going to be a very hard process because we've never seen this before and I think people are going to absorb is in due time.
And just remember this: of the six most-important battleground states, not one of them was decided by more than three percentage points. Four were decided by 1.2 percentage points or less. Any small shift in any of those states – as it regards to these verdicts – could affect the presidential election.
We should keep that in mind and understand that people are going to process this over the summer like we've never seen before. Political conventions, nominating process, a fevered presidential campaign against the backdrop of what our legal system actually means.
NATE BURLESON: The American people are paying attention to every single moment as we get ready for the election. Major, thank you so much.
