Only a few hours had passed since former President Donald Trump was in a Manhattan courtroom, stern-faced, pleading not guilty before a judge to 34 felony criminal charges. Yet in the safety of his home at Mar-a-Lago in Florida on Tuesday night, surrounded by supporters and family, his focus was on the dozens of charges that could come next.
Trump offered a lengthy rebuttal to a series of ongoing investigations into his personal conduct and time as president, arguing that they collectively represent a legal overreach meant to discredit a political opponent.
“I never thought anything like this could happen in America,” Trump said. “The only crime that I’ve committed is to fearlessly defend our nation from those who seek to destroy it.”
The president did eventually focus on the charges he faced Tuesday, offering a series of blunt and personal attacks against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and the judge presiding over his case, Juan Merchan. Trump criticized not just Merchan but also the judge’s family, including his wife and his daughter.
“This is where we are as a nation,” Trump said. “Who would have thought? They can’t beat us at the ballot box, so they try and beat us through the law.”
Trump is accused of orchestrating a financial scheme shortly before the 2016 presidential election to silence women with whom he engaged in extramarital affairs. He formally faced the charges Tuesday, riding in a motorcade from Trump Tower in midtown Manhattan in the morning to get booked and fingerprinted in the city’s criminal courthouse.
Images that emerged from the courtroom showed a somber former president before he pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, “with intent to defraud and intent to commit another crime,” according to the indictment.
“Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election,” Bragg said in a statement. “Manhattan is home to the country’s most significant business market. We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct.”
Yet Trump potentially faces state and federal criminal charges from other investigations, as well.
In Georgia, prosecutors are considering whether Trump violated state election and anti-racketeering laws when he attempted to persuade local officials to overturn the 2020 presidential election results there.
Jack Smith, a special counsel appointed by the Justice Department, is also considering whether Trump broke federal law by attempting to overturn the 2020 election and encouraging a mob of his supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, disrupting congressional certification of the results. In a separate probe, the special counsel is investigating whether Trump violated the law by mishandling highly classified national security documents.
In his speech from Mar-a-Lago, Trump spoke as much about those looming investigations as he did about the charges in New York, attacking the district attorney in Georgia as “waiting in the wings” and the U.S. special counsel for imposing a double standard in the documents probe, after classified information was also found at President Joe Biden’s offices.
“With a very dark cloud over our beloved country, I have no doubt nevertheless that we will make America great again,” Trump said.
Trump’s indictment arrives as his grip on the Republican Party appears to be tightening, in part, some Republicans say, because of news of the criminal charges he faced Tuesday. A Reuters/Ipsos survey released Monday found Trump receiving the support of 48% of GOP voters in the 2024 primary, up 4 points since March.
His nearest competitor, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, received the backing of just 19% of Republicans in the poll, an 11-point drop since March.
Many of Trump’s GOP rivals, including DeSantis, have rushed to his defense since the charges were formally announced, echoing his criticism that they are politically motivated.
Trump is attempting to become the first president since Grover Cleveland more than 125 years ago to serve two nonconsecutive terms in the White House.
Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson are the only other major Republican candidates, besides Trump, to declare that they are running for president. Former Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo are also considering bids.
