US President Joe Biden on Tuesday offered his remarks on the legal proceedings surrounding the trial against former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin, despite warnings from the judge overseeing the case that doing so may prompt unwanted results.
Hours ahead of the final guilty verdicts against Chauvin, Biden told reporters that he was “praying” for the “right verdict,” emphasizing that he was in the clear to utter the remarks because the jury “is sequestered now.”
Biden’s commentary came in the wake of backlash over statements made by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), who told the public over the weekend that she would “fight with all of the people who stand for justice” if the trial did not conclude with a guilty verdict.
At the time, Cahill told members of the courtroom after jury deliberations began that he wished “elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law.”
Later Tuesday, Biden was blasted by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who told reporters that it is “unhelpful” for congressional lawmakers and the president to weigh in on such matters since Chauvin was entitled to a fair trial.