Former President Donald Trump lashed out Monday at the political forces that brought him to a Manhattan courthouse.
Trump faces 34 counts of first-degree falsifying business records, which Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is prosecuting as felonies. Trump arrived at the courthouse Monday where jury selection began and sounded a defiant note.
“This is an assault on America, and that’s why I’m very proud to be here,” Trump said in a video posted to X.
“This is an assault on our country, and it’s a country that’s failing. It’s a country that’s run by an incompetent man who’s very much involved in this case,” he said.
BREAKING: Donald Trump speaks outside of the courtroom ahead of his first criminal trial. pic.twitter.com/N4EjpRsYo7
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) April 15, 2024
“This is really an attack on a political opponent; that’s all it is. So I’m very honored to be here,” Trump said.
Trump said his trial breaks all precedents in American law and politics.
Is this prosecution politically motivated?
“Nothing like this has ever happened before,” Trump said. “There’s never been anything like it.”
“Every legal scholar says this case … should never have been brought,” Trump said, adding, “There is no case.”
“This is political persecution,” Trump said. “This is a persecution like never before.”
The allegations against Trump, according to Fox News, are that ahead of the 2016 election, former Trump attorney Michael Cohen paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000, so she would not go public with claims of an affair with Trump. Trump has denied the affair ever took place.
The Trump Organization then repaid Cohen, labeling the payments as legal costs. Bragg will seek to prove that the payments were made with the intent to conceal a crime.
Trump lashed out on Truth Social at Judge Juan Merchan over a gag order that bans Trump from talking about potential witnesses.
“I want my VOICE back. This Crooked Judge has GAGGED me. Unconstitutional! The other side can talk about me, but I am not allowed to talk about them! Rigged Trial!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also noted there is more at stake than just one legal case.
“When I walk into that courtroom, I know I will have the love of 200 million Americans behind me, and I will be FIGHTING for the FREEDOM of 325 MILLION AMERICANS!” Trump also posted on Truth Social.
On Friday, during a media session at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, Trump was asked if he would testify, according to The New York Times.
“I’m testifying. I tell the truth. I mean, all I can do is tell the truth. And the truth is that there’s no case. They have no case,” Trump said.
