Trump Speaks at Mar-a-Lago Following Indictment in New York
00:16 GMT 05.04.2023 (Updated: 00:57 GMT 05.04.2023)
© AFP 2023 / MANDEL NGAN
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In a historic speech, the embattled former US President slammed those behind the charges against him and claimed the real criminal” in the case against him is “the District Attorney, because he illegally leaked massive amounts of information.”
In a wide-ranging address, former US President Donald Trump has struck back at the Democratic Party forces he says are behind the criminal charges filed against him by Manhattan’s District Attorney, Alvin Bragg.
Speaking at his upscale resort in Mar-A-Lago, Florida on Tuesday, Trump insisted that “this is a persecution, not an investigation.”
Earlier that morning, prosecutors revealed they’ve brought 34 felony charges against the former President, who stands accused of making a hush-money payment to adult actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump pled not guilty to all charges at his appearance Tuesday.
“I never thought anything like this could happen in America,” the former President told supporters in Florida, adding: “the only crime that I have committed is to defend this nation from those who seek to destroy it.”
Trump Addresses His Indictment
— The Vigilant Fox 🦊 (@VigilantFox) April 5, 2023
"The only crime that I've committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it." pic.twitter.com/nDd6qapo49
“From the beginning the democrats spied on my campaign,” Trump stated, pointing to the “Russia Russia Russia… and Ukraine Ukraine Ukraine” narratives used to delegitimize his presidency.
Citing “the unconstitutional changes to election laws” and “the millions of votes illegally stuffed into voting boxes and caughting on camera,” Trump maintained the 2020 election was stolen by Democrats.
“The pressure on Facebook and Twitter to not say anything bad about the Hunter Biden laptop from hell… would have made a lot of a difference in our election,” Trump noted.
“They said Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation. It didn’t exist, it was Russian disinformation. And that was supported by the FBI, remember?”
“He's campaigning on the fact that he would 'get president Trump,'” the former president explained.
“And this all while even the RINOS admit there’s no case against me and it should never have been brought.”
“It’s an insult to our country while the rest of the world is laughing at us for our open borders, our incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan,” Trump declared, assuming that this is “the most embarrassing time in our country’s history, in my opinion.”
“An all out nuclear world war three could happen now,” he said.
“Now the Biden administration has “really stepped up their efforts by indicting the former president, who received 75 million. Which is more than anyone in the history of our country," he added.
“They are now seeking to indict me over an absolutely perfect phone call that I made — even more perfect than the one I made with Ukraine.”
“This case was made by Democrats” with an eye towards the 2024 election, he added, “and it should be dropped immediately.”
“They’re looking at me through the Espionage Act of 1917, under which the penalty is death.”
But he's being accused of the same supposed ‘crimes’ which former presidents Barack Obama, George Bush, Jimmy Carter, and many more have all committed, he suggested.
“And now we are nation in decline… held hostage “by radical left lunatics,” the former president claimed, emphasizing that “we can’t let that happen.”
“With all this being said, I have no doubt that we will Make America Great Again,” Trump concluded.
The next in-person hearing for former president Donald Trump is set for December 4 in New York. The judge presiding over Trump's case said a trial could begin in January of 2024, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on Tuesday.
