A federal judge on Monday delivered a scathing rebuke of former President Donald Trump for spreading lies about voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election, which led to the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The judge said that former Vice President Al Gore had better standing to challenge the 2000 election results but that he was “a man” and walked away, CNN reports.
“Al Gore had a better case to argue than Mr. Trump, but he was a man about what happened to him,” Senior District Judge Reggie Walton said of Gore’s decision to end his presidential bid following weeks of legal battles. “He accepted it and walked away,” he added, according to CNN.
Walton’s remarks came during a plea hearing for Capitol riot defendant Adam Johnson, who was photographed carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s lectern through the Capitol building.
“What concerns me, sir, is that you were gullible enough to come to Washington, DC, from Florida based on a lie,” Walton said, “and the person who inspired you to do what you do is still making those statements, and my concern is that you are gullible enough to do it again.”
Walton, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, is the most recent to add his voice to a chorus of judges criticizing Trump for lying to his supporters. Last week, a federal judge also blamed Trump for the attack on the Capitol and called the rioters “pawns” who were provoked into action.
