White House denies Trump called the justice system 'a joke' and 'a laughingstock' hours after he said it
- Allan Smith
- Trump discussed the man accused of speeding a rental truck into a bike lane in New York City on Tuesday and killing eight people.
Police have identified the driver as Sayfullo Saipov, a 29-year-old immigrant from Uzbekistanwho arrived in the US in 2010. They said on Wednesday that he left a note saying he carried out the attack in the name of the terrorist group ISIS.
Trump, who said he would consider sending Saipov to the Guantanamo Bay military prison, told reporters the US must "come up with punishment that's far quicker and far greater than the punishment these animals are getting right now."
"They'll go through court for years," he said. "And at the end, they'll be — who knows what happens. We need quick justice, and we need strong justice, much quicker and much stronger than we have right now. Because what we have right now is a joke, and it's a laughingstock. And no wonder so much of this stuff takes place."
Sanders was twice asked about that statement during Wednesday's press briefing. She first said Trump was "voicing his frustration with" the "lengthy process."
She was pressed later by CNN's Jim Acosta.
"Why did the president call the US justice system a joke and a laughingstock —" Acosta said before Sanders cut in and said, "That's not what he said."
"He said the process has people calling us a joke and calling us a laughingstock," Sanders said. "He's simply pointing out his frustration with how long that this process takes, how costly this process is — and particularly for someone to be a known terrorist, that process should move faster."
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