Amy Klobuchar won’t back down from VP bid over prosecutor record criticism

WASHINGTON — Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar on Friday refused to withdraw her bid to become Joe Biden’s vice president after it emerged that she once failed to get charges brought against the cop involved in George Floyd’s death while serving as a prosecutor in 2006.

Klobuchar is facing mounting scrutiny of her criminal justice record after she failed to get charges brought against  Derek Chauvin, the police officer who was seen with his knee on Floyd’s neck as he begged for air, for fatally shooting another man while she was a county attorney.

“Joe Biden’s gonna make a decision on VP and I know he’ll make a good one,” Klobuchar told New York Magazine reporter Olivia Nuzzi, according to a series of tweets by Nuzzi on Friday morning.

“Joe Biden will make a good decision on who should be the Vice President and as for the other matters, I think you better get the facts straight,” Klobuchar continued, saying she would address the matter in a TV interview.

The Democratic lawmaker, who is currently in her home state, which is being rocked by violent protests following Floyd’s death, said allegations against her were a “bold-faced lie.”

Klobuchar declined to prosecute cops involved in more than two dozen officer-involved fatalities that took place during her time as Hennepin County attorney from 1999 to 2006, according to a report by the Star Tribune.

“I will be more than talking about this. I spent the day with my community, which was the right thing to do. But these allegations are a bold-faced lie,” she said.

“I am now going to go and meet with people about what’s happening in my city but I gave you an answer, and that’s that Joe Biden is gonna make the best decision for the country,” she added.

Her record sparked a protest at one of her presidential rallies in March, with demonstrators chanting “Black lives matter” as she took the stage, and will cause concern for the Biden camp, who count African Americans as a core bloc of support.

Klobuchar is being vetted by the Biden campaign along with a handful of other female candidates.