Calls N.Y. Charges ‘Fake Case’ That ‘Should Be Dropped Immediately’

Topline

Former President Donald Trump decried the criminal allegations against him in Manhattan as a “fake case” in his first spoken remarks on his criminal indictment Tuesday night, calling on District Attorney Alvin Bragg to resign and slamming the judge overseeing the case as “Trump-hating” just hours after he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges in his courtroom.

Former President Donald Trump speaks at his Mar-a-Lago estate Tuesday in Palm Beach, Florida. (AP … [+] Photo/Evan Vucci)

Key Facts

In a speech that often veered into campaign rhetoric, Trump claimed the case is politically motivated and has been “brought only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election,” telling a crowd of supporters inside a Mar-A-Lago ballroom “it should be dropped immediately.”

The former president said Bragg should resign over unfounded leaking allegations, while accusing Judge Juan Merchan and his entire family of harboring political bias against him (Trump has previously decried Merchan, who oversaw a separate criminal tax fraud trial involving the Trump Organization).

Trump claimed Tuesday’s unsealing of an indictment that was unexpectedly thin on details proved the case against him is “ridiculous,” asserting “virtually everyone” agrees there was no crime—even though the majority of a 23-member grand jury believed the case was strong enough to send to trial, and Bragg’s office offered more details on the allegations in a separate statement of facts.

Trump used much of the speech to criticize the numerous other investigations against him, saying a pair of federal criminal probes into his handling of classified documents and conduct ahead of January 6, an investigation in Georgia and a civil lawsuit brought against him by the New York attorney general are all politically motivated: “The only crime that I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation.”

Surprising Fact

The former president’s wife, Melania Trump, did not appear at Mar-A-Lago on Tuesday night and did not accompany her husband to face charges in New York. Trump said his family has “gone through hell” over the indictment, naming each of his children in Tuesday’s speech but making no mention of his wife.

Key Background

Trump spent a large chunk of Tuesday afternoon in custody at the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse for an arraignment, following his indictment last week over his role in allegedly paying off porn star Stormy Daniels late in the 2016 presidential campaign to keep her from disclosing an affair she allegedly had with Trump (the former president has denied the affair). Each of the 34 counts against Trump relate to allegedly false business statements he made to reimburse former fixer Michael Cohen for a payment to Daniels, though prosecutors also pointed to two other hush money payments made in the leadup to the 2016 election to cover up alleged affairs. Bragg at a news conference Tuesday afternoon accused Trump of making false statements “to cover up other crimes,” specifically “to hide damaging information from the voting public”—though the alleged false statements were the only crimes identified in the indictment. The district attorney suggested the case against Trump contains “bread and butter” examples of white-collar crime, while Trump’s attorneys called the charges “boilerplate” and said Bragg doesn’t have the authority to bring them in the first place since they concern a federal election.

Tangent

Berchan reportedly warned both prosecutors and the defense team—including Trump—against making social media posts that could be seen as threatening or inciting violence. Trump previously warned of “death & destruction” if indicted.

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Key Facts

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