The White House on Thursday responded to the guilty verdict in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial with a brief statement.
“We respect the rule of law, and have no additional comment,” said Ian Sams, a spokesman for the White House Counsel’s Office.
The reserved reaction upended speculation that President Biden would address the nation about the verdict. A report by Politico last week indicated Mr. Biden planned to address the verdict from the White House and urge Americans to accept the outcome.
Administration officials now say the president will address the outcome at some point, but not through formal remarks. He may address it in response to a reporter’s question.
Mr. Trump on Thursday was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to hide payments to porn star Stormy Daniels.
While the Biden campaign has used the Trump trial to rally support for the president, the White House has avoided commenting. Officials fear that any comment would lead to accusations Mr. Biden is putting his thumb on the scales of an ongoing legal case involving his political opponent.
Mr. Biden and his campaign have made a few tongue-in-cheek references to the legal battles of Mr. Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee. For example, Mr. Biden recently joked that Mr. Trump was “free on Wednesdays,” a reference to the only weekday the former president did not have to be in court during the hush money trial in New York.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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