Former US President Donald Trump blasted his historic federal indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless” Saturday during his first public appearances since the charges were unsealed, painting the 37 felony counts as an attack on his supporters as he tried to turn dire legal peril to political advantage and project a sense of normalcy, reports AP.
Speaking at Republican state conventions in Georgia and North Carolina on Saturday, Trump cast his indictment by the Department of Justice as an attempt to damage his chances of returning to the White House as he campaigns for a second term.
“They’ve launched one witch hunt after another to try and stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people,” Trump alleged in Georgia, later telling the crowd that, “In the end, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.”
The strategy is a well-worn one for Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination despite his mounting legal woes, which also include criminal charges filed against him in March in New York. Again and again, in the face of investigation, Trump has tried to delegitimize law enforcement officials and portray himself — and his supporters — as victims, even when he is accused of serious crimes.
Trump also vowed Saturday to remain in the race, even if he is convicted in the case.
“I’ll never leave,” he told Politico in an interview aboard his plane after his speech in Georgia. He further predicted that he wouldn’t be convicted and sidestepped questions about whether he would pardon himself if he wins a second term.
“I don’t think I’ll ever have to,” Trump said. “I didn’t do anything wrong.”
The indictment unsealed Friday charges Trump with willfully defying Justice Department demands that he return classified documents, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telling his lawyers that he wanted to defy a subpoena for the materials stored at his residence.
The indictment includes allegations that he stored documents in a ballroom and bathroom at his Mar-a-Lago resort, among other places.
Trump is due to make his first federal court appearance Tuesday in Miami. He was charged alongside valet Walt Nauta, a personal aide whom prosecutors say moved boxes from a storage room to Trump’s residence for him to review and later lied to investigators about the movement. Nauta traveled with Trump on Saturday, appearing by his side at a Georgia Waffle House stop where the former president signed autographs, posed for photos and told supporters, “We did absolutely nothing wrong.”
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
