Trump Plots Revenge Against Biden in Unhinged Post-Arrest Speech
It looks like Donald Trump has established a playbook for getting indicted: fly into the city he's being charged in, load up the motorcade, go to court, get arrested, get arraigned, then fly to one of his resorts for a night-of speech. Trump flew to Mar-a-Lago to speak after getting arrested in New York in April, and on Tuesday he flew from Florida to his club in Bedminster, New Jersey, after pleading not guilty to 37 criminal counts brought against him by the Justice Department.
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Before a crowd of supporters -- who at one point interrupted him to sing "Happy Birthday" -- Trump called the indictment against him "the most evil and heinous abuse in the history of our country."
The former president ranted ad nauseam about President Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, vowing to get his revenge by appointing a "real special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden. And the entire Biden crime family." President Biden is currently facing his own, yet unresolved, special counsel investigation into classified material recovered from his home.
Trump vows that if he wins the presidency, he will appoint a special prosecutor to "go after Biden" and "the entire Biden crime family." "I will totally obliterate the deep state," Trump adds. "I am the only one who can save this nation." pic.twitter.com/khb1T4ya6x -- Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 14, 2023
Trump repeatedly pointed to controversies surrounding Biden and Clinton's handling of sensitive materials, but his gripes went far beyond just documents. "Hillary Clinton took hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of furniture, china, flatware, rugs and more from the White House, and she wasn't prosecuted," Trump complained. "How about if Trump did that? Do you think Trump would have a little problem?"
The former president also took aim at Special Counsel Jack Smith, calling him a "lunatic" and a "thug." He even targeted his wife in a repeat of attacks he leveled against Smith and his family earlier this week.
"This is called election interference, yet another attempt to rig and steal a presidential election, Trump said. "More importantly, it's a political persecution like something straight out of a fascist or communist nation. This day will go down in infamy."
Donald Trump, the first former president to face a federal indictment: "Biden will forever be remembered as not only the most corrupt president in the history of our country but perhaps even more importantly the president who...tried to destroy American democracy." pic.twitter.com/iIppWrxMqw -- Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) June 14, 2023
The latest charges against Trump stem from a months-long DOJ investigation into his retention of a massive trove of classified documents following his departure from the presidency. A scathing indictment released Friday alleged he had gone to great lengths to prevent authorities from recovering the documents, and that he had mishandled them while they were in his possession.
Prosecutors say that the former president retained documents containing highly sensitive nuclear and military secrets; that he suggested lying about and even destroying the documents when investigators asked for them; that they have him on tape discussing the contents of one classified document with people who lacked security clearance, as well as admitting he couldn't declassify them; and more. Editor's picks
At his court appearance Tuesday, Trump was not handcuffed and did not have his mugshot taken. He was digitally fingerprinted, assigned a probation officer, and appeared before the judge to enter his not-guilty plea. Following his departure from the court, the former president made a surprise stop at a Cuban restaurant, where a crowd of supporters sang him "Happy Birthday" and appeared to pray over him. Trump then departed for New Jersey.
This is the second criminal indictment brought against Trump this year. In April, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. The charges relate to a 2016 hush money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.