- Trump remains the front-runner for the GOP nomination — and will address friendly Republican audiences in Georgia and North Carolina on Saturday
- The 49-page indictment, unsealed on Friday, alleges that Trump, 76, mishandled confidential documents and obstructed justice after leaving office in early 2021
- He is expected to use his platform on Saturday to deny the allegations while adding to claims that portray him as a victim of a criminal conspiracy
donald trump is about to make his first public appearances since submitting his bombing indictment, in which he is likely to seek support after vowing to resist the federal charges.
Despite his mounting legal woes, Trump is still the front runner for the 2024 Republican nomination and will continue to address friendly Republican audiences in both Georgia and North Carolina next Saturday.
The 49-page indictment, unsealed on Friday, alleges that Trump, 76, mishandled classified documents and obstructed justice after leaving office in 2021.
It contains 37 counts of charges related to those charges, as well as photographs showing that piles of boxes filled with documents were illegally stored at his Florida property for almost a year.
Since receiving a subpoena in a Miami court next week, Trump has branded himself repeatedly The case stems from a politically motivated “witch hunt” instigated by his successor, Joe Biden. He He is expected to use his platform on Saturday to deny the allegations while adding to claims that portray himself as a victim.
Donald Trump is about to make his first public appearances since handing over his bombing indictment, during which he is likely to try to rally support after vowing to fight the federal charges. It contains 37 counts related to those charges, as well as photos showing mountains of documents. Filled boxes were illegally stored at his Florida estate for nearly a year.
“Trump is a fighter, and the kind of people who attend these conventions love a fighter,” said Jack Kingston, a former Georgia congressman who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, of the former president’s planned speech at a state convention home state.
Meanwhile, in a steady stream of posts aired early Saturday morning on social media outlet Truth, Trump reiterated his promise to take the case against him to court Tuesday, while also sharing a link asking for money, to “save America”.
His consecutive appearances come a day after the unsealing of the aforementioned federal indictment, which resulted in the politician becoming the first ever former president to face federal criminal charges.
All 37 charges are felonies, alleging that the former president willfully resisted the Justice Department’s demands for the return of classified documents.
He is also accused of hiring helpers to hide the records – and even telling his lawyers that he wanted to resist a subpoena for the materials stored at his property.
He is said to have kept the documents – 184 of which contained classified information – in a ballroom and bathroom at his resort, among other places.
The most serious charges – including an alleged violation of US espionage laws – carry a sentence of up to 20 years each, although first-time offenders rarely get anywhere near the maximum sentence.
Ultimately, this decision rests with the federal lawyer, who is in charge of the proceedings.
“Trump is a fighter, and the people who attend these conventions love a fighter,” Jack Kingston, a former Georgia congressman who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020, said of his scheduled speech on Saturday. The couple is seen together in 2016 shortly after Trump’s election victory. As for the newly unsealed indictment, all 37 counts are felonies, and the former president is accused of willfully defying the Justice Department’s demands for classified documents to be returned to the records – and that he even told his lawyers, that he wished to resist a subpoena for the materials stored on his property. In one photo, the cardboard boxes are stacked in front of a shower curtain and next to a sink in a Mar-a-Lago bathroom. Some of Trump’s advisers simply called the files “his papers.” A photo of documents seized in the Mar-a-Lago search on August 8 has been released by the Justice Department He is said to have kept the documents – 184 of which contained classified information – in a ballroom and bathroom at his resort, among other places
Despite all of that, Trump can expect a hero’s welcome this weekend as he rallies his Republican allies and seeks to cement his status as the GOP’s frontrunner.
However, in a strange twist of fate, former Vice President Mike Pence is also scheduled to appear in North Carolina for his own speech on Saturday — the first time the former vice presidents have appeared at the same venue since Pence announced his campaign against his old boss.
Trump, in turn, asserted that he had committed no wrongdoing, saying, “There was no crime other than what the Justice Department and the FBI have been doing against me for years.”
The indictment comes as Trump continues to dominate the Republican presidential primary.
Other Republican Party candidates have primarily attacked the Justice Department, not Trump, for the investigation, although the breadth of the allegations and scope of the indictments could make them more difficult for Republicans to protest than a previous New York criminal trial that many have said Legal analysts had derided it as weak.
A Trump campaign aide described the former president’s mood as “defiant” on Friday before his trip. But advisers were significantly more reluctant after the indictments were unsealed, recognizing the seriousness of the charges and the threat they posed to Trump beyond potential short-term political gain.
The federal indictment document alleges that Trump not only intentionally possessed classified documents, but also boasted of them to visitors and aides.
The charges are based on Trump’s own words and actions, which were told to prosecutors by attorneys, close associates and other witnesses, including his declaration of respect and knowledge of the procedures involved in handling classified information.
The indictment contains 37 counts – 31 of which relate to willful withholding of national defense information, the remainder relate to alleged conspiracy, obstruction and misrepresentation – which together could result in a year in prison.
Despite all of that, Trump can expect a hero’s welcome this weekend as he rallies his Republican allies and seeks to cement his status as the front runner for the GOP — while continuing to post online about what he feels is an unwarranted investigation against him Meanwhile, in a steady stream of posts aired early Saturday morning on social media outlet Truth, Trump reiterated his promise to take the case against him to court Tuesday, while also sharing a link asking for money, to “save America”.
Trump is scheduled to appear in federal court for the first time on Tuesday in Miami. He was charged along with Walt Nauta, a personal aide who prosecutors said was moving boxes from a storage room to Trump’s home so he could screen him and who later lied to investigators about the movement.
A photo accompanying the indictment shows several dozen file boxes stacked in a storage room.
The case increases legal vulnerability for Trump, who has already been charged with a hush-money scheme in New York and faces further investigations in Washington and Atlanta that could also lead to criminal charges.
But among the various investigations he faced, the Mar-a-Lago Inquiry has long been considered the most dangerous threat and the one most likely to be prosecuted. Campaign officials had been preparing for the fallout since Trump’s lawyers were briefed that he was the target of the investigation, assuming the issue was not if charges would be filed, but when.
Trump’s continued popularity with Republican voters is evidenced by the reluctance of his main competitors to deal with the federal indictment, which comes less than three months after he was charged in New York in 2011 with hush money payments to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign.
Pence, campaigning in New Hampshire on Friday, said he was “deeply concerned” that Trump had been indicted at the federal level because he believed it would further divide the nation.
Former Vice President Mike Pence is also scheduled to appear in North Carolina on Saturday. It’s the first time they’ve performed at the same venue since Pence announced his candidacy. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has promised to fire FBI chief Christopher Wray if he is elected president. During his own remarks at the GOP convention in North Carolina on Friday night, DeSantis did not mention Trump by name but again drew the comparison to Clinton
Pence urged his audience to pray for Trump, his family and all Americans, and pledged to uphold the rule of law and “clean running at the highest level” at the Justice Department if elected.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s leading Republican rival, unabashedly joined the former president in lamenting the “arming of federal law enforcement” and “an uneven application of the law.”
Without making specific allegations, DeSantis targeted two popular Republican targets — Hillary Clinton and Biden’s son Hunter — and suggested that this “political bias” made them evade federal responsibility.
During his own remarks at the GOP convention in North Carolina on Friday night, DeSantis did not mention Trump by name but again drew the comparison to Clinton.
“In me, you know, you have a new FBI director from day one. We will clear out all of these agencies on day one. We will have a general overhaul done.
“I think there has to be a unified standard of justice in this country,” DeSantis said while addressing a party convention in Greensboro, North Carolina.
He condemned what he called “arming” government agencies, but was careful not to mention Trump by name in his speech.
Wray was nominated for the position by former President Donald Trump in 2017, but has faced criticism from Republican lawmakers for being overly political during his tenure.
Among the declared Republican candidates, only Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson had specifically asked Trump to end his comeback bid.
