Donald Trump urged prosecutors to drop the charges against him and insisted on his innocence in his first public remarks following his arraignment in federal court over mishandling classified materials.
“This day will go down in infamy,” Trump told a friendly audience at his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey on Tuesday, dismissing the charges as “election interference” — offering a preview of how he will fight the case.
“I’m not the one who thinks I’m above the law. I’m the one who followed the law,” said Trump. “Joe Biden and his corrupt Department of Justice, they are above the law.”
Earlier Tuesday, Trump appeared at a Miami courthouse, where he pleaded not guilty to the 37 counts the Justice Department brought against him. The counts allege he willfully retained top-secret government documents and conspired to stymie US officials’ efforts to recover them.
“I had every right to have these documents,” Trump said. “The decision to segregate personal materials from presidential records is made by the president, during the president’s term. And at the president’s sole discretion.”
“They ought to drop this case immediately,” he added.
Trump is trying to turn his second indictment in 10 weeks into a fresh opportunity to generate funds for his White House comeback effort and bolster his polling lead in a crowded field of Republican 2024 presidential candidates. His campaign said raised more than $15 million in the days after his April 4 indictment by a Manhattan grand jury.
The charges in that case stemmed from allegations that Trump paid hush money to an adult film star shortly before the 2016 presidential election to cover up an alleged sexual encounter. He has denied the encounter and pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Rather than wound Trump politically, the New York indictment only bolstered his status as the favorite in the GOP nomination contest. His poll numbers surged, political rivals were pressured to defend him and his strident supporters echoed his claims that the charges were unfair and politically motivated.
Trump, the first ex-president to face federal charges, currently leads his nearest challenger, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by over 30 percentage points, according to an average of national polls compiled by RealClearPolitics.
He is trying to turn this historic moment to his political advantage, the latest example in his years-long unsubstantiated claim of a so-called Deep State entrenched within federal agencies like the Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation hellbent on opposing him.
He fell back into his habit of expressing grievances, pointing to the lack of charges in the investigation regarding classified documents stored at Biden’s Delaware home as an example of an unjust legal system. Biden, however, returned those documents willingly once they were discovered.
Surrounded by Allies
Immediately after leaving court Tuesday, Trump made a carefully orchestrated stop at a Cuban restaurant in Miami, listening as a faith leader in a kippah prayed over him, then as the cheering crowd sang to him, a day ahead of his 77th birthday.
“Some birthday,” Trump said. “We have a country that is in decline like never before,” he added.
At Bedminster, Trump was joined by allies, including Mike Lindell, chief executive officer of MyPillow Inc., who has promoted the false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.
Lindell predicted Trump would be the GOP nominee, calling the indictment a “big hoax.” “There was nothing done with any malicious intent at all,” he told reporters.
A guest, referencing the discount promotions Lindell offers for his pillows, jokingly asked, “What’s the promo code?”
“FBI,” Lindell answered.
Trump’s guests were paraded in front of reporters — walking to the fundraiser past a corralled area where the campaign kept the press.
Among those attending were agribusiness executive Charles Herbster, who lost the 2022 Nebraska gubernatorial primary; Andrew Giuliani, an ex-White House aide and son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; and former Trump adviser Bernie Kerik, a onetime New York City police commissioner.
--With assistance from Mark Niquette.
