Rep. Maxine Waters dismissed the concerns raised by a judge who criticized her encouraging protesters to get “confrontational” if former police officer Derek Chauvin is acquitted in the death of George Floyd.
“The judge says my words don’t matter,” the California Democrat repeatedly said, according to CNN’s Manu Raju.
When pressed on Judge Peter Cahill’s observation that Waters’s comments could be grounds for an appeal by the defense, Waters replied, “Oh, no, no, they didn’t.”
Just asked Maxine Waters about the judge’s rebuke of her words, and she said repeatedly: “The judge says my words don’t matter.” When pressed on the judge stating that her remarks could be grounds for appeal, she replied, “Oh no, no they didn’t.” What the judge said: https://t.co/gK7zqzOzuO
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) April 19, 2021
Earlier on Monday, Cahill said Waters’s comments over the weekend demanding a guilty verdict for Chauvin could result in the trial being overturned.
“I’ll give you that congresswoman Waters may have given you something on appeal that may result in this whole trial being overturned,” Cahill said in response to comments by a defense attorney.
CHAUVIN JUDGE SAYS MAXINE WATERS’S COMMENTS COULD LEAD TO OVERTURNING OF TRIAL ON APPEAL
The Minnesota judge called on politicians to stop speaking publicly about the trial, saying their commentary is disrespectful to the separation of powers.
“This goes back to what I’ve been saying since the beginning. I wish elected officials would stop talking about this case, especially in a manner that is disrespectful to the rule of law and to the judicial branch and our function,” he said. “I think if they want to give their opinions, they should do so in a respectful [way] and in a manner that is consistent with their oath to the Constitution to respect a coequal branch of government. Their failure to do so, I think, is abhorrent.”
As Waters said, Cahill denied the defense’s motion for a mistrial, saying, “A congresswoman’s opinion really doesn’t matter a whole lot.”
The courtroom remarks allude to recent comments by Waters, who demanded Chauvin be found “guilty, guilty, guilty” in the killing of Floyd following an arrest in Minneapolis last May.
“We’re looking for a guilty verdict,” she told a crowd of protesters on Saturday. “And we’re looking to see if all of the talk that took place and has been taking place after they saw what happened to George Floyd, if nothing does not happen, then we know that we’ve got to not only stay in the street, but we’ve got to fight for justice.”
Waters urged demonstrators to “get more confrontational” if Chauvin is acquitted.
Her comments attracted widespread criticism, with Republicans calling for her expulsion from Congress for incitement. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced a resolution that would remove Waters from Congress, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy announced his intention to propose a censure resolution.
“This weekend in Minnesota, Maxine Waters broke the law by violating curfew and then incited violence,” McCarthy said in a tweet Monday evening. “Speaker Pelosi is ignoring Waters’ behavior—that’s why I am introducing a resolution to censure Rep. Waters for these dangerous comments.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi disputed Republicans’ interpretation of Waters’s remarks, saying she didn’t need to apologize because she wasn’t inciting violence.
“No, I don’t think she should apologize,” Pelosi said in response Monday. “Maxine talked about confrontation in the manner of the civil rights movement.”
Asked whether the comments from Waters incited violence, the speaker said, “No, absolutely not.”
Waters’s remarks reflect the views of many on the Left, who believe Chauvin’s actions led to Floyd’s death. On May 25 last year, Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was arrested after allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill. When law enforcement attempted to apprehend him, officers pinned him to the ground, and Chauvin, who is white, placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, during which Floyd said, “I can’t breathe.” Floyd died following the incident.
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Floyd’s death led to nationwide protests last summer and conversations about officers’ use of force, particularly when apprehending minorities. Similar scenes have played out in the last week after the police shooting of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old black man. Wright was shot and killed by former officer Kimberly Potter during a traffic stop on April 11 in nearby Brooklyn Center. Minnesota called in the National Guard to respond to the unrest.
Chauvin has pleaded not guilty to charges of third-degree murder, second-degree murder, and manslaughter. Attorneys made closing arguments on Monday, and jurors are now deliberating their verdict in the case.
