Biden Calls Case Against Chauvin 'Overwhelming'

After talking to Floyd's family, president says evidence against Chauvin is 'overwhelming'
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 20, 2021 12:13 PM CDT
Biden Calls Case Against Chauvin 'Overwhelming'
President Biden speaks Tuesday in the Oval Office of the White House.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Biden said Tuesday that he considers the case against Derek Chauvin in George Floyd's death to be "overwhelming." He told reporters in the Oval Office that he felt free to say that because the Minneapolis jury is sequestered, the AP reports. Biden added that he's "praying the verdict is the right verdict." Jurors began deliberations in the murder trial on Monday after hours of closing arguments. The former police officer is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. The president had not expressed an opinion on whether Chauvin should be convicted before, per CNN. The jurors, who are staying in a hotel, have been told not to watch or read news coverage of the trial. While Floyd's family awaits the verdict, Biden said he "can only imagine the pressure and anxiety they're feeling."

Biden also talked to members of Floyd's family on Monday. "He was just calling," said Floyd's brother, Philonise, who testified in the trial. "He knows how it is to lose a family member. And he knows that the process of what we're going through so he was just letting us know that he was praying for us, and hoping that everything would come out to be OK." He made the comments on NBC's Today show. "They're a good family," Biden said Tuesday, "and they're calling for peace and tranquility no matter what that verdict is." White House aides said the president plans to address systemic racism in the criminal justice system once the verdict is in. Philonise Floyd expressed optimism about the trial's outcome, per Axios. "I just feel that in America, if a Black man can’t get justice for this, what can a Black man get justice for?" (More George Floyd stories.)

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