“I never thought something like this could happen in the United States,” he told a group of worshipers gathered in the ballroom of his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida.
“This is an insult to our country,” he said after returning from New York. “The only crime I have committed is to fearlessly defend our country against those who seek to destroy it.”
Trump continued his election campaign from home, demonstrating that legal scandals will not stop the planned return to the White House if necessary.
More information: Trump goes to court in historic trial for bribing porn actor
In a 20-minute speech, he said he was a victim of “massive election interference” and described the prosecutors investigating him in several cases as “radical leftists”.
The festive atmosphere, with applause for Trump and jeers at his opponents, was reminiscent of one of the boss’s regular gatherings. Like his attacks on the Democrats and the baseless claim that he was robbed in the 2020 election, which he lost to Joe Biden.
Hours before his hometown, the former president pleaded not guilty to falsifying accounting records in a criminal trial that paved the way for a trial that could begin in January 2024, just months before the presidential election he hopes to return to the White House. house
The 76-year-old billionaire faces 34 charges for paying porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 in 2016 to keep quiet about an alleged 2006 extramarital affair, which he has always denied.
According to New York prosecutors, the maneuver was designed not to tarnish Trump’s image in light of that year’s election.
In the afternoon, he surrendered to the Manhattan courthouse, where he arrived in a vehicle escorted by the Secret Service. In court, the police stood between supporters and critics of the former president to prevent violent confrontations.
Trump had to follow the ritual imposed on each defendant: he had to provide their names, ages, occupations and fingerprints, but while he seemed to avoid having a criminal record photograph taken, it was a source of much public humiliation for the stars. at UNITED. STATES
According to court documents, in addition to paying Stormy Daniels, the boss bought silence from third parties at least twice more. He paid $30,000 to a Trump Tower bouncer who claimed to know something about the businessman’s son, who was having an extramarital affair, and another $150,000 to a woman who claimed to have had an affair with the former president.
Trump’s attorney at the time, Michael Cohen, processed the payment to Daniels, and the boss allegedly refunded him the fees, listing them as legal fees in his company’s Trump Organization accounts.
Further information: Grand jury votes to impeach Donald Trump for paying porn actress
The payout to the player was not reported in the campaign accounts of the 2016 presidential candidate at the time, a possible violation of New York state election laws.
“Major criminal behavior cannot be normalized,” prosecutor Alvin Bragg said at a news conference after Trump’s appearance. “Everyone is equal before the law,” he added.
Trump faces further criminal investigation over his efforts to reverse his defeat in the 2020 Georgia state election, his handling of classified documents and his possible involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, raid on the Capitol.
Read more: Trump ‘shocked’ by impeachment, ready to ‘fight’
It is not yet known what effect these cases will have on his return to the White House, but the former president has resisted the scandals.
He survived two congressional impeachments, has a large fan base and has so far aligned himself with most of his Republican compatriots. Among them, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who presented himself as the party’s main rival in the primary, described the impeachment against Trump as “un-American.”
Source: Ultimahora
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Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
