Joe Biden bragged Wednesday about Donald Trump's criminal sentencing - after Trump repeatedly accused Biden and Democrats of weaponizing the justice system against him.
Biden's troubling remarks came as Kamala Harris has tried to paint Trump as an authoritarian figure who would lock up his political opponents.
Speaking at a rally for Harris in Pennsylvania, Biden recited the litany of civil and criminal cases that have been filed against Trump.
"And folks, look. This is the same guy who’s been held liable for $83 million for sexual abuse and defamation, the same guy for getting rid of Roe V. Wade, the same guy with three other major cases waiting for him when he loses," Biden said.
All four of Trump's criminal indictments were filed last year, after Trump launched his presidential campaign. The prosecutions have mostly stalled, with the exception of Trump's "hush money" case in New York, where he was convicted in May for "falsifying business records."
A Justice Department insider privately called the case "nonsense" and suggested Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was motivated by ambition.
Biden, in his remarks, said he looks forward to Trump's November 26 sentencing, which was delayed until after the election.
"And by the way, 34 felonies, and so far — he had to get sentenced. He got the sentence kick back, but I want to watch that sentence. Look, Donald Trump is not running for you. He’s running for himself. I think he’s running to stay out of jail."
Democrats have repeatedly accused Trump of wanting to weaponize the justice system - although Trump says that's exactly what Democrats have done to him.
Just weeks before Election Day, DOJ prosecutor Jack Smith publicly released evidence against Trump in his stalled January 6th case. Smith's move has been seen as an improper attempt to influence the election and try the case in the court of public opinion.
In addition to his criminal prosecutions, Trump has also been fined upwards of half a billion dollars in two separate civil cases. An appeals court recently suggested it might reverse the verdict in the "business fraud" case, calling the gargantuan $454 million punishment "troubling."
Biden's unseemly gloating comes despite Harris' repeated warnings that Trump is a threat to democracy and the rule of law.
"This is a democracy, and in a democracy the president of the United States in the United States of America, should be willing to be able to handle criticism without saying he'd lock people up for doing it," she told Fox News' Brett Baier Wednesday night.
Trump has long blasted the avalanche of legal cases as politically motivated and a threat to free and fair elections.
