Christie, who used to be a federal lawyer, said that judges can be fair and neutral even when the cases are very controversial.
Chris Christie, a Republican running for president in 2020, said over the weekend that his opponent in 2024, former President Donald Trump, can get a fair hearing in Washington, D.C.
Christie was talked to Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” As a former U.S. attorney in New Jersey, he told host Dana Bash that he thinks “jurors can be fair” even in difficult situations.
“I believe in the American people,” said Christie. “I also believe that the jury will listen in a fair and equal way.”
Bash pointed out that President Biden got more than 90% of the votes in D.C. in the 2020 election. Christie told him not to worry about that.
“Unlike anyone else in this race, I did this for seven years as the U.S. attorney in New Jersey, which is a very blue state and has the fifth-largest office in the country,” he said. “I saw jurors put aside their partisanship and politics, listen to the evidence, and come up with fair and just decisions in my state.”
Christie said that he had successfully tried more than 130 cases of political crime, and none of them had been thrown out on appeal.
He said that people who doubt the fairness of a jury are like Donald Trump and only believe in themselves, not the American people.
In Washington, D.C., a federal grand jury brought charges against Trump based on Special Counsel Jack Smith’s probe into meddling in the 2020 election and the riot at the Capitol on January 6. Trump has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding and plot against rights.
The former president has called the different accusations against him a political “witch hunt,” on Sunday, he said that he couldn’t get a fair trial in the nation’s capital.
“NO WAY I CAN GET A FAIR TRIAL, OR EVEN CLOSE TO A FAIR TRIAL, IN WASHINGTON, D.C.,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“THERE ARE MANY REASONS FOR THIS, BUT ONE IS THAT I AM CALLING FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO TAKE OVER THIS DIRTY AND CRIME-RIDDEN DISGRACE TO OUR NATION, WHERE MURDER RATES JUST BROKE THE ALL-TIME RECORD, OTHER VIOLENT CRIMES HAVE NEVER BEEN WORSE, AND TOURISTS HAVE LEFT. The federal takeover isn’t popular with potential jurors in the area, but it’s needed for safety, greatness, and for the whole world to see.”
The first Republican presidential primary debate, which will take place on August 23 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will feature Trump and Christie as participants. At 9 p.m. ET, the discussion will begin.
Christie has offered to fight Trump face-to-face, but Trump, the clear front-runner in the primary, hasn’t decided if he will show up yet.
