Trump indictment: Former US President Donald Trump made his first public comments since his indictment in the 2016 hush money criminal case. Addressing supporters in Florida after the court’s decision, the 76-year-old Republican leader, the first former US president to face criminal charges, said he never thought something like this could happen in America.
“Our country is going to hell. We have to save our country. The only crime I have committed is to fearlessly defend my country from those seeking to destroy it. It is a disgrace to our country,” Trump said in his indictment. But expressed incredulity, as per the Associated Press (AP).
‘Nothing was done illegally’: Trump
Speaking further about the case, the former president claimed that every legal person has said that there is no case and they have not done anything “illegally”. “The hearing was shocking to many because they had no ‘surprise’, and therefore no case. In fact every legal pundit has said there is no case here. Nothing illegal was done !” Trump said on ‘Truth Social’.
Among other things, Trump was defiant about his two impeachment trials during his presidency and the ongoing investigation into that state’s alleged efforts to interfere in the 2020 presidential election. He called the New York indictment the latest in an “onslaught of fraud investigations.” “This bogus case was brought only to interfere in the upcoming 2024 election and should be dropped immediately,” Trump said.
Trump scoffs at prosecutor and judge
He also lashed out at the prosecutor and the judge presiding over the New York case – warned hours earlier by the judge to refrain from rhetoric that could lead to civil unrest.
Defiant Trump pleaded “not guilty” in a Manhattan court to 34 felony charges for his alleged role in paying money to two women at the end of the 2016 presidential campaign. “Defendant, Donald J. Trump, falsified New York business records to conceal an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election and other violations of election laws,” said Assistant District Attorney Christopher Conroy.
In the New York case, each count of falsifying business records, a felony, is punishable by up to four years in prison — though it’s unclear whether a judge will give the former president any jail time. According to media reports, an American judge said that Trump’s trial could begin in January 2024.
What is the matter?
The case relates to six-figure payments made to porn actor Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougall. Both have claimed that they had a sexual relationship with the married Trump several years before Trump entered politics. However, Trump has frequently denied all wrongdoing regarding payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Last week, Trump expressed confidence that he would “win this fight” as well as the 2024 presidential election. It should be mentioned here that Trump is also being investigated for allegedly trying to change the 2020 vote results in Georgia, a state he lost to Democrat Joe Biden, and on January 6, 2021 For his role in the riot at the US Capitol.
(with inputs from agencies)