Former President Donald J. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on Tuesday in charges brought by on by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
On Tuesday, from Mar-a-Lago, Trump spoke to his supporters.
“I never thought anything like this could happen in America. Never thought it could happen,” Trump said in his opening remarks. “The only crime I have committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.”
Trump briefly mentioned Alvin Bragg, bringing up Bragg’s wife’s tweets. He also slammed the judge assigned to the case, calling him a “Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family.”
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Trump said the fake case” was brought “only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election” and stated it should be “dropped immediately.”
“We are a nation in decline. And now these radical left lunatics want to interfere with our elections by using law enforcement,” President Trump added. “We can’t let that happen…I have no doubt nevertheless that we will make America great again.”
Trump, a 2024 GOP presidential candidate, said the Democrats have been attacking him from day one, blasting the Russia probe, impeachments, and the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago.
“From the beginning, the Democrats spied on my campaign, and they attacked me with an onslaught of fraudulent investigations,” Trump said Tuesday. “Russia, Russia, Russia. Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine. Impeachment hoax No.1. Impeachment hoax No. 2. The illegal and unconstitutional raid on Mar-a-Lago. Lying to the FISA courts.”
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Legal experts agree with President Trump that there is no crime here. Jesse Watters asked former U.S. Attorney Brett Tolman, “Can you figure out what the big crime is here?” Tolman replied, “I finally did figure it out. It’s being Donald Trump.”
George Washington University Law Professor Jonathan Turley told Bret Baier, “I’ve never seen an indictment quite like this one” and “there’s no there there.”
Alvin Bragg’s indictment unified prominent conservatives.
“Alvin Bragg is attempting to interfere in our democratic process by invoking federal law to bring politicized charges against President Trump, admittedly using federal funds, while at the same time arguing that the peoples’ representatives in Congress lack jurisdiction to investigate this farce. Not so. Bragg’s weaponization of the federal justice process will be held accountable by Congress,” said House Speaker Kevin MacCarthy.
Rep. Thomas Massie said, “Alvin Bragg should be disbarred and removed from office. This is an egregious abuse of the legal system for political purposes and threatens the fabric of our judicial system.”
The Arraignment
Trump surrendered to authorities at the courthouse in Manhattan at around 1:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Anti-Trump and pro-Trump protesters, as well as the media, flooded the area outside the courthouse. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and George Santos, R-N.Y., stopped briefly to join Trump supporters protesting against his indictment but departed amid the chaos.
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Former President Donald Trump posted to Truth Social as he was en route to the Manhattan district attorney’s office and courthouse ahead of his arraignment, writing, “Heading to Lower Manhattan, the Courthouse. Seems so SURREAL — WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can’t believe this is happening in America. MAGA!”
Trump entered the courtroom at 2:29 pm and did not stop for questions from reporters.
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