In legal jeopardy, Trump is trying to shift the spotlight to Biden

Indicted and furious, former President Donald J. Trump — with the help of Republican allies, social media supporters and Fox News — is lashing out at his successor in hopes of undermining the charges against him.

“A corrupt incumbent president!” Mr. Trump blared Tuesday night after he was arrested and pleaded not guilty in Miami. “The Biden administration has turned us into a banana republic,” one of his longtime advisers wrote in a fundraising email. “Wannabe dictator,” read a chyron on Fox News, accusing Mr Biden of arresting his political rival.

The allegations against Mr. Biden are being made without any evidence that they are true, and Mr. Trump’s claims of an unfair prosecution came even after Attorney General Merrick B. Garland appointed special counsel specifically to isolate the investigations from political considerations.

But that hardly seems to be the point for Mr. Trump and his allies as they make a concerted effort to defame Mr. Biden and erode confidence in the justice system. Just hours after his arraignment, Mr Trump promised a refund if he wins the White House in 2024.

“I will appoint a real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,” Trump said during remarks at his golf club in Bedminster, NJ.

On Twitter, followers of the former president used words like “traitor,” “disgrace,” “corrupt” and “biggest liar” to describe the current president. And while Fox News said Wednesday that the “wannabe dictator” headline was “immediately removed” and addressed, the network counts Mr. Trump’s many followers as loyal viewers.

The response from Mr Biden and his advisers was a studious silence.

The president has vowed not to hint that he is interfering with Trump’s criminal case, and has ordered his White House aides and campaign aides not to comment. That decision has silenced the normally robust rapid response team focused on countering Republican attacks.

The president’s press assistants responsible for immediately distributing pro-Biden comments to reporters have disappeared in obscurity. Even Senator Chuck Schumer, the Majority Leader, issued a terse “no comment” Wednesday.

Jill Biden, the first lady, broke the code of silence on Monday by telling donors at a fundraiser in New York that she was shocked Republicans were not bothered by Trump’s indictment. “My heart feels so broken by a lot of the headlines we see on the news,” she said at the event, according to The Associated Press.

The Attorney General also weighed in — somewhat — on Wednesday in his first public remarks since Mr Trump was indicted. He took the opportunity to defend Jack Smith, the special counsel, as “a seasoned prosecutor.”

“He has brought together a group of experienced and talented prosecutors and agents who share his commitment to integrity and the rule of law,” said Mr. Garland.

Yet the White House’s no-comment strategy is reminiscent of the staunch silence of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election and ties between Russian agents and Trump’s campaign. Mr. Mueller said virtually nothing for over a year as Mr. Trump and his allies attacked his investigation and his motives.

Like Mr. Mueller’s approach, Mr. Biden’s refusal to comment is designed to ensure he does not provide ammunition that his opponents can use to undermine his credibility and integrity.

But in the end, the ongoing attack on Mr. Mueller and his investigation helped Mr. Trump create a false narrative and survive the damning revelations in the more than 400-page report bearing the prosecution’s name.

When a reporter noted on Wednesday that Mr. Trump had accused Mr. Biden of “arresting him, effectively directing his arrest,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said: “I’m not going to comment to give. ”

Eddie Vale, a longtime Democratic strategist, said the White House position made sense given the need to avoid even hinting that Mr Biden was interfering in Mr Trump’s case.

But he said members of outside Democratic groups would most likely go to defend Mr Biden if the attacks continued.

“This is such a loaded and hot topic,” said Mr. Vale. “There’s nothing to be gained by weighing in. But I think as it progresses, there will be people in the outer circle who weigh in.”

Strategists for Mr. Trump promise that the attacks will continue.

Chris LaCivita, a senior Trump campaign adviser, said Wednesday it was reasonable to assign responsibility for the investigation to Biden because the special counsel was appointed by Biden’s attorney general.

“There is such a thing in government, the chain of command,” he said.

America First Legal, the pro-Trump group founded by Stephen Miller, the architect of the former president’s immigration agenda, issued a fundraising appeal Wednesday morning, using the indictment as a rallying cry.

The theme was echoed by Mr. Trump’s staunchest allies in Congress, who turned their anger on Mr. Biden, while also ranting against the Justice Department, the FBI, the “mainstream media” and Democrats in general .

Most of them, it seemed, were trying to get Mr. Biden to respond.

“I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump against this grave injustice,” tweeted Chairman Kevin McCarthy, the leading Republican in Congress.

Mr Biden has so far focused on governing.

President Tuesday met Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary General of NATO, in the Oval Office. He later hosted a Juneteenth concert on the White House’s South Lawn, an event where it was easy to avoid the topic of Mr. Trump.

“For me, making Juneteenth a federal holiday was not just a token gesture,” Biden told the crowd in terse remarks. “It was a fact that this country recognized the original sin of slavery.”

But it’s likely to get harder not to wade into the Trump situation.

On Saturday, the president will attend a political rally with union supporters in Philadelphia. It is the kind of event where he is expected to draw the contrast between himself and his rivals.

Mr Biden may be able to solve that problem in the short term; Mr. Trump has a long way to go to win the Republican nomination.

But if he becomes Mr Biden’s opponent for the presidency again, the avoidance strategy will eventually have to change.

As the first lady told donors at an event in California — referring to Trump’s four-year tenure in the White House: “We can’t go back to those dark days. And with your help, we are not going back.”