The White House said Friday it had no advance knowledge of the federal indictment against former President Donald Trump and refused to weigh in on the case, saying it wanted to respect the Justice Department’s independence.
Principal deputy White House press secretary Olivia Dalton said President Biden and senior staff learned of the seven-count indictment in Florida late Thursday “just like everybody else last night.”
“No advanced knowledge that this was coming — found out from news reports just like everybody else across America,” Ms. Dalton told reporters on Air Force One.
Ms. Dalton said the government is “always prepared” for possible protests related to the charges, but she offered no details and took pains to avoid talking about the case.
“We are just not going to comment on this case and would refer you to the DOJ, which runs its criminal investigations independently,” Ms. Dalton said. “This is a president who respects the rule of law; he’s said that from day one. That’s precisely why we’re not commenting here.”
Later Friday, reporters pressed Mr. Biden to weigh in during a stop in North Carolina.
DOCUMENT: United States v. Donald J. Trump and Waltine Nauta
“I have no comment,” he said.
Mr. Trump was issued a summons to a federal courthouse in Miami to answer the charges Tuesday.
While the specific allegations are unclear, Mr. Trump’s attorneys said the charges involve the Espionage Act and alleged offenses related to the discovery of classified documents at Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida and efforts to return them to the National Archives.
Mr. Trump says he’s innocent and the charges are part of a broad witch hunt designed to thwart his 2024 campaign.
He says the Justice Department should focus equal attention on Mr. Biden and the classified documents found among materials at a Washington think tank used by Mr. Biden and the president’s home in Wilmington, Delaware.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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