Former President Donald Trump delivers remarks from his Mar-A-Lago property in Florida following his arraignment in New York City earlier Tuesday. Prosecutors alleged Trump was part of an unlawful plan to suppress negative information, including an illegal payment of $130,000 that was ordered by the defendant to suppress information that would hurt his campaign. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business in the first degree. The Associated Press has the story:
Trump defiant in Florida speech: ‘Fake Case’
Newslooks- (AP)
Flanked by American flags, former President Donald Trump delivered a campaign-style speech to cheering supporters at Mar-a-Lago Tuesday night.
Trump was defiant, referring, among other things, to his two impeachment trials during his presidency. He called the New York indictment the latest in an “onslaught of fraudulent investigations.”
Former President Donald Trump said he “never thought anything like this could happen in America” Tuesday night after he was arraigned in New York City. “The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it,” Trump said from his Mar-A-Lago property in Florida.
“This fake case was brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election and it should be dropped immediately,” Trump said.
The former president emerged to a crowd of his supporters accompanied by the song “Proud to be an American.” The crowd chanted “USA” as he made his way to a microphone.
He mentioned the 2020 presidential election, current President Joe Biden and claimed “our country is going to hell” to which the audience applauded.
The Manhattan district attorney’s office has been investigating Trump in connection with his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential election.
The indictment by a New York grand jury was unsealed Tuesday, providing the public and Trump’s legal team with details about the charges against him for the first time. Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges.
Donald Trump began his remarks at Mar-a-Lago by quickly bringing up “Hunter Biden‘s laptop from hell, which the former president falsely claimed exposes the Biden family as “criminals”.
Trump attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and his family – bringing up Bragg’s wife’s tweets. He also attacked the judge assigned to the case, calling him a “Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family”.
Trump painted the indictment as Democrats’ latest attempt to kneecap him, citing “fraudulent investigations” on Russia and Ukraine, and “impeachment hoax one” and “impeachment hoax two.” Trump said his opponents have “really stepped up their efforts by indicting the 45th president of the United States.”
He then went on to attempt to discredit the election investigation against him in Georgia and special counsel Jack Smith’s investigations into Trump’s handling of classified documents and the events of Jan. 6, 2021.
Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump attend former President Donald Trump’s press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday.
Supporters in the crowd include Donald Trump Jr., Tiffany Trump, Eric Trump, Lara Trump, GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and failed gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
Trump did not, however, denied paying hush money to cover up an extramarital affair.
In a social media post from his plane on his flight home from New York, former President Donald Trump said that Tuesday’s court hearing “was shocking to many in that they had no ‘surprises,’ and therefore, no case. Virtually every legal pundit has said that there is no case here. There was nothing done illegally!”
Trump’s plane has landed in Florida, and his motorcade headed to his Mar-a-Lago resort where hundreds of supporters, many in red MAGA hats, awaited him in a grand ballroom. Trump was expected to speak there in a campaign-like setting.
Former President Donald Trump arrives to speak at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday.Rebecca Blackwell / AP
One man wore a jacket patterned with star-shaped American flags, and another man wore a red tie with the message “No Crime!” Members of a motorcycle club sported black leather vests that read on the back “Born To Ride for 45 Donald Trump.” Trump was the 45th U.S. president.
Alex Gonzalez, a motorcycle club member, said he supports Trump in his 2024 presidential bid.
