Possible VP pick says Trump verdict does not ‘give me pause’

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a rising GOP star whose name has been floated as a possible running mate for former President Trump, said Trump’s conviction in his New York trial doesn’t give him any pause about potentially serving in another Trump administration. 

“Does it give you any pause to potentially serve as the vice president or in another role in the Trump administration, considering the fact that he is the first convicted felon who is a former president?” CNN’s Kasie Hunt asked the governor.

“It’s not causing me any pause, because I think we, everybody knows that it’s … very tough to get a fair trial for Donald Trump in New York,” Burgum said. “Does not give me pause.” 

Burgum, a former Trump rival in the Republican presidential primary, made the comments a day after a jury in New York found Trump guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying business records in his hush money case, making him the first former president to be convicted of a felony.

GOP figures who have been floated as potential Trump running mates have rushed to his defense, backing up his criticisms of the case and knocking the judge who presided over it. 

“Today’s verdict shows how corrupt, rigged, and unAmerican the weaponized justice system has become under Joe Biden,” said Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), another VP contender.

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) called the verdict “a disgrace to the rule of law and our Constitution.” 

The former president will face sentencing in July, just days before the Republican National Convention.