Trump Blames Biden For His Indictment—Without Evidence—And Vows ‘Justice’ In Fiery Post-Arrest Speech

Topline

Former President Donald Trump made the unfounded claim that President Joe Biden played a direct role in prosecuting Trump to prevent him from being re-elected and vowed to “obliterate the deep state” if he’s re-elected, in a boisterous speech hours after Trump pleaded not guilty to federal charges of retaining sensitive documents Tuesday.

Former President Donald Trump gestures after speaking at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, … [+] N.J., Tuesday, June 13, 2023, after pleading not guilty in a Miami courtroom earlier in the day to dozens of felony counts that he hoarded classified documents and refused government demands to give them back. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Key Facts

Trump began by telling the crowd, “today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country,” in a speech at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club, after pleading not guilty to 37 felony charges in Miami, marking the first time in U.S. history a former president was federally charged.

Trump blamed Biden for his arrest, calling it an “attempt to rig and steal an election,” and referring to Biden as the “most corrupt president in the history of our country.”

There’s no evidence Biden was involved in the charging decision, which was made by the office of Special Counsel Jack Smith, an independent DOJ official whom Attorney General Merrick Garland can’t overrule without telling Congress.

Trump said the 31 charges he faces of violating the Espionage Act have “nothing to do with a former president legally keeping his own documents,” and repeated his widely disputed defense that he “had every right” under the Presidential Records Act to hold onto documents that prosecutors say contained national defense secrets (the National Archives says under federal law, it controls records after a president leaves office).

Trump claimed “the President enjoys unconstrained authority to make decisions regarding the disposal of documents” under the Presidential Records Act—an interpretation of the law that clashes with his previous alleged admission that he didn’t have the authority to declassify the records he held onto, according to the indictment, which cites a recording of Trump making the statement in 2021.

Trump also went after former President Bill Clinton, claiming a double-standard after Clinton hung onto recordings of his interviews with a historian that a court ultimately deemed were personal records he was not required to turn over the the National Archives and Records Administration.

Trump blasted various aspects of the DOJ probe, including the FBI’s August raid at Mar-A-Lago, claiming it was a “flagrant violation of the Fourth Amendment,” while complaining that investigators took his “medical records, my passport, my birth certificate” and “broke into [his] safe.”

Crucial Quote

“I am the only one that can save this nation, because you know they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you, and I just happen to be standing in their way,” Trump said, repeating a mantra he has repeatedly used to rally his supporters and delegitimize the various law enforcement investigations against him. “On November 4, 2024, justice will be done,” Trump said, predicting he would win next year’s presidential election.

Contra

Biden has denied any involvement in the case and told reporters Friday, “I have not spoken to [Garland] at all and I’m not going to speak with him” about Trump’s case. Garland appointed Smith, who was also present in court Tuesday, to handle the probe to avoid the appearance of political interference after Trump announced his third run for the White House in November.

Key Background

Trump spent approximately 90 minutes inside the federal courthouse in downtown Miami Tuesday afternoon, where he surrendered to authorities and was taken into custody. Trump was reportedly fingerprinted, but did not have his mugshot taken, nor was he placed in handcuffs, given his low flight and security risks and high profile. Magistrate Judge Jonathan Goodman oversaw the initial appearance and released Trump on his own recognizance shortly after his attorney Todd Blanche entered the not guilty plea on his behalf, as Trump reportedly sat next to him, looking solemn with his arms crossed. Federal prosecutors allege Trump took with him a cache of classified records dispersed throughout boxes of his personal files stored haphazardly around Mar-A-Lago—in a bathroom, shower, his bedroom and various other unsecured locations. The records contained national defense secrets, including information about U.S. nuclear programs, according to a 49-page indictment unsealed Friday. Trump is charged with 31 counts of violating the Espionage Act, stemming from 31 specific classified documents he kept in his possession, including 21 labeled top-secret. Trump also faces additional charges of obstructing the Justice Department investigation after allegedly ordering his associates to hide the records from federal investigators and refusing to comply with a subpoena they issued, prosecutors say.

Surprising Fact

Trump visited a Miami Cuban restaurant, Versailles, moments after he was arrested and arraigned in federal court Tuesday, in an apparent display of defiance as he seeks to delegitimize the probe and has repeatedly claimed he did nothing wrong in taking the records with him to Mar-A-Lago. Trump was greeted by supporters who sang “Happy Birthday” to him ahead of his 77th birthday Wednesday and prayed over the former president. “Some birthday. Some birthday. We’ve got a government that’s out of control,” Trump said from inside the restaurant, before departing Miami back to Newark Airport, where he landed around 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Tangent

Following his April indictment in Manhattan Criminal Court on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, Trump flew back to Mar-A-Lago that night and delivered a speech blasting the various law enforcement investigations against him and the prosecutors leading them, claiming the U.S. justice system has been hijacked by the left and is working against him to prevent him from being re-elected president. Trump also pleaded not guilty in the Manhattan case—which marked the first-ever indictment of a former U.S. president and centers on allegations that he orchestrated a series of hush-money payments to silence women who claim they had affairs with Trump ahead of the 2016 election.