President Trump addressed a large group of supporters and media Tuesday night in the ballroom at Mar-a-Lago. His remarks came just hours after he was arraigned in New York on a 34-count indictment for falsifying business records.
President Trump opened his speech by thanking the audience for supporters. “We have to save our country. God bless you all. I never thought something like this could happen in America… The only crime I have committed is fearlessly defending our nation against those who seek to destroy it,” he said to applause from the crowd.
During his remarks, President Trump underscored his commitment to the American people and the legal witch hunt, including the Russian hoax and the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.
The crowd booed at the mention of DA Bragg and Attorney General Letitia James, who both campaigned to weaponize the justice system against the president.
“This is a persecution, not an investigation,” the president said. He went on to explain “There is no case”, and called the indictment “ridiculous”.
He said the real criminal is the district attorney who leaked information about the charges before the indictment was dropped or President Trump’s knowledge of the 34 counts of falsifying business records.
He also took the time to highlight election interference through the social media censorship of the Hunter Biden Laptop story and the impact it had on the election. Joe Biden’s destruction of the US economy and military was also mentioned during the president’s speech.
President Trump appeared Tuesday afternoon in a Manhattan courtroom before Judge Juan Merchan who previously presided over two criminal tax evasion cases involving Trump’s real estate company and its former chief financial officer. The charge of falsifying business records can be prosecuted in New York State as a misdemeanor. However, Bragg’s office raised all charges to the lowest level of felonies in the New York State Penal Code – Class E felony.
The indictment does not specify which laws President Trump violated. At a news conference following the impeachment, DA Bragg pushed back at reporters when asked about the lack of detail, saying “the law doesn’t require it.”
Never in the history of the United States has a current or outgoing president been indicted on criminal charges.
You can watch President Trump’s remarks HERE
You can read the indictment and statement of facts HERE