Former US President Donald Trump has protested his innocence after the historic reading of the indictment against him and launched an all-out attack on the judiciary.
“Now these radical left-wing crazies want to influence our elections with the help of law enforcement agencies,” the Republican said on Tuesday evening (local time) in front of supporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. It was the 76-year-old’s first public speech after the indictment in New York, from where he had just returned. In Manhattan he had to appear in court. He was also taken into custody for the time being. The Republican pleaded not guilty.
The accusation
Trump is the first ex-president in US history to face criminal charges. In the indictment, the public prosecutor’s office accuses him of falsifying business documents in 34 cases. He wanted to hide harmful information and illegal activities before and after the 2016 presidential election. At the center of the allegations is the payment of hush money to a porn actress.
Trump and others have systematically tried to identify negative information about him, suppress it with money and thus increase his chances in the 2016 presidential election. Trump went to great lengths to cover it all up, making dozens of false entries in business records. Attempts to violate electoral laws are among the criminal activities he has tried to cover up. Under New York law, it is a criminal offense to conspire to advance a candidate in an election by illegal means.
Trump’s reaction
Trump criticized the charges against him as an “insult to our country” and “massive electoral interference” during his appearance in Mar-a-Lago. He is running as his party’s presidential candidate for the 2024 election. The Republican has now portrayed the prosecution against him as a politically motivated attempt by his opponents to eliminate him for the 2024 election. The prosecutor is a criminal and a failure, the judge would hate him, Trump continued to scold. Trump followed up on his Twitter replacement Truth Social and called the charges “morally disgusting” and spoke of “abuse of power”.
Trump had already incited prosecutor Alvin Bragg and judge Juan Merchan before the court date in New York. He finally called on Trump in court not to incite people to violence. “Please refrain from statements that glorify violence, create unrest and endanger security,” Merchan said, referring to Trump’s posts on social media. Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles stressed after the indictment that Trump was not targeting Judge Merchan.
How it goes on
The further procedure after the indictment is read out will take a long time. Before a trial there is a series of hearings and the opportunity to make various applications. Trump’s lawyers could try to delay the processes and bring a process to burst. Trump himself is not scheduled to appear in court again until December 4th. Prosecutors suggested January 2024 as a possible start date for Trump’s trial, but the defense has argued for a later date – in late spring 2024. The judge said it was prudent to proceed as soon as possible.
Trump’s political future
Trump announced several months ago that he wanted to run again in the November 2024 presidential election. A trial and a potential conviction in the New York case could at best affect Trump’s plans for a renewed presidential candidacy from a political point of view. In purely legal terms, on the other hand, Trump could theoretically also compete as a convicted criminal in the election. However, the legal wrangling could fall in the middle of the party’s internal primaries – they are expected to start in February 2024.
