Some may wonder why President Biden has refused to weigh in on former president Donald Trump’s legal predicaments. In 1970 President Richard Nixon made an offhand comment about the Sharon Tate murders trial, saying that Charles Manson was
“…guilty, directly or indirectly, of eight murders without reason.”
President Richard Nixon
Nixon quickly walked back his comment, but the damage was done. The next day Charles Manson held up the Los Angeles Times with the headline, “MANSON GUILTY, NIXON DECLARES” One of the defense attorneys said,
“If we’re going to have the chief executive of this nation categorically or uncategorically speculate on people’s guilt, we ought to abandon this court system.”
Paul Fitzgerald Attorney for Charles Manson
The jury in the Manson had been sequestered in a hotel, and the trial judge ultimately ruled against a mistrial motion.
Trump’s legal team could use any comment by Biden as a reason for a mistrial.
Sources
https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1970/8/4/nixon-calls-manson-guilty-attorneys-move/
Thanks, and a tip of the hat to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for the image.
