Former President Donald Trump responded to his indictment by a grand jury on Thursday evening.
According to The New York Times, the specifics of the allegations have not been made public. But, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office is investigating Trump for payments made in 2016 to porn star Stormy Daniels and how they were documented on the Trump Organization’s records.
The Times noted, “A conviction is not a sure thing: An attempt to combine a charge relating to the false records with an election violation relating to the payment to Ms. Daniels would be based on a legal theory that has yet to be evaluated by judges, raising the possibility that a court could throw out or limit the charges.”
Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America pic.twitter.com/N1UYjINb6b
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) March 30, 2023
Trump ignored a discussion of the legal nuances of the allegations and blasted them as simply political maneuvering.
“The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable — indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference,” Trump said in a statement.
“This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,” the statement said, which was posted on Trump’s Truth Social platform.
Alan Dershowitz on Trump indictment: "They've made a foolish, foolish decision which will cause the case to be thrown out, I think, on statute of limitations grounds."
— Matt Couch (@RealMattCouch) March 30, 2023
Trump grouped the indictment with other prominent claims leveled against him.
“From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats — the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country — have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this,” Trump said in the statement.
“Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever,” Trump continued.
Constitutional law scholar Jonathan Turley on indictment of President Donald J. Trump:
“It’s rather outrageous. It’s legally pathetic.” pic.twitter.com/PwbpvV6Y7h
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 30, 2023
Constitutional law scholar Jonathan Turley on indictment of President Donald J. Trump:
“It’s rather outrageous. It’s legally pathetic.” pic.twitter.com/PwbpvV6Y7h
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) March 30, 2023
The remark centered on Bragg as well as Joseph Biden. Trump is seeking the Republican nomination for president, and if Biden runs for a second term as he has stated he would, he will likely be the Democratic nominee.
“Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who was hand-picked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace. Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, he’s doing Joe Biden’s dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time!” Trump wrote.
“I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party — united and strong — will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump stated.
Word of the indictment ignited Twitter.
The weaponization of our justice system CAN NOT STAND!
— Lauren Boebert (@laurenboebert) March 30, 2023
Tonight’s indictment of Donald Trump isn’t about the law. It’s about power. Raw power. It’s the Democrat Party telling the nation they will stop at nothing to control the outcome of the next presidential election. It is an assault on our democracy, pure and simple
— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) March 30, 2023
The prolonged J6 imprisonments, prosecutions, and continued arrests into March 2023 are intended to NORMALIZE this 3rd world style approach to governance.
They want you to get used to this.
The #TrumpIndictment is just one more example of the same.
Do not allow them to…
— Stew Peters (@realstewpeters) March 30, 2023
In a statement, his lawyers, Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, said Trump “did not commit any crime,” and they “will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court,” according to the Associated Press.
Next week, Trump is likely to go to New York City for arraignment proceedings.