Former US President Donald Trump blasted New York prosecutors in an address from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after entering a not guilty plea to 34 criminal charges. He also accused Democrats of political retaliation and “fraudulent investigations” in the speech.
After arriving back in his native country of the United States from New York, where he was arraigned on accusations of falsifying business records earlier in the day, Trump gave the speech to a live audience on Tuesday night and insisted there is “no case” against him.
“I never thought anything like this could happen in America… The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it,” Trump said, claiming that the latest case is part of an “onslaught of fraudulent investigations” brought by Democrats.
Trump argued that since his rivals “can’t beat us at the ballot box,” they have tried to “beat us through the law,” reiterating some of his previous allegations of widespread election fraud in the 2020 presidential race. He rejected the charges against him as “fake,” arguing that their purpose is to “interfere with the upcoming 2024 election,” and should be “dropped immediately.”
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The former leader continued to attack Democrats and President Joe Biden in the manner of a presidential contender, accusing them of having “open borders” immigration policies, “raging crime statistics,” and high inflation that is “crippling” the US economy. He reportedly made reference to US participation in the conflict in Ukraine when he warned that Biden could take the nation into “an all-out nuclear World War III.”
Trump is charged by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office with arranging a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in order to prevent her from disclosing information about an alleged affair and then trying to hide the transfer through the use of fabricated documents. Additionally, the prosecution contends that he intentionally attempted to use fabricated papers to cover up additional offences.
In his address on Tuesday night, Trump referred to Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg as a “radical left George Soros-backed prosecutor” and claimed that the Manhattan grand jury’s charge was the result of a “witch hunt” and “political persecution.” Trump also disputed any misconduct.
While Trump’s defence has until early August to submit any petitions opposing the case, the district attorney’s office has stated that it intends to produce the majority of its evidence for discovery in the following 65 days. Trump’s lawyers say they expect to have the case dismissed before trial even though Judge Juan Merchan has set the next in-person meeting for December 4.
