Former President Donald Trump delivered a lengthy speech from Trump Tower in New York on Friday morning following his unprecedented trial in which he was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Trump, who is seen as a possible Republican candidate for the 2024 election, has said he wanted to testify in the New York v. Trump criminal trial but appears to have been given a lawyer who would not allow it.
“I would have testified. I wanted to testify,” Trump said from the podium.
“In theory, you shouldn’t testify, because the minute you testify, even if you’re George Washington, you shouldn’t testify, because you get one little thing wrong and you’re charged with perjury.”
“But I didn’t care about that. That’s what I wanted,” Trump repeated.
Legal experts say Trump’s conviction is a ‘target-rich environment’ for appeals
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference at Trump Tower in New York, Friday, May 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Julia Nickinson)
But Judge Juan Marchan “allowed an investigation into everything I’ve ever been involved in. This is the first time I’ve ever allowed an investigation into everything I’ve ever been involved in, not just this case,” he said.
“In other words, everything I’ve done is going to be scrutinized. Was he a bad kid here? Was he a bad kid there? My lawyer said, ‘Why would we scrutinize that? All you wanted to do was testify about this incident.'”
“I wanted to testify and I’ve wanted to testify to this day,” Trump said.
“But you would have said something out of line, like it was a beautiful sunny day and it was actually raining,” Trump said, recalling a conversation with his legal adviser.
“And I’m so grateful for the large number of people that came out outside. It’s incredible what’s happening right now. The level of support is unbelievable,” Trump quickly added.
Trump was indicted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
Trump found guilty on all charges in New York criminal trial
Former President Donald Trump appears in Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, Thursday, May 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Poole)
Prosecutors had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump falsified business records to hide a $130,000 payment he made to former porn star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election in order to silence her about an alleged affair between Trump and her in 2006. Prosecutors were ultimately successful; Trump denied the affair throughout the trial.
“So the cost of this lawsuit was recorded as a litigation expense,” Trump said Thursday. “Think about that.”
Trump said fighting the lawsuits against him was “very important and out of my control. This should never happen to another president. It should never happen again. But this is out of my control. This is bigger than Trump. This is bigger than me. This is bigger than my presidency.”
The sentence is scheduled for July 11, four days before the Republican National Convention. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. In total, Trump faces up to 136 years in prison.
NY v. Trump: Prosecutors say they presented “strong evidence” against former president
Former President Donald Trump held a rally on May 23, 2024, in New York City’s historically Democratic South Bronx neighborhood. (Spencer Pratt/Getty Images)
“We are losing our country,” Trump said in a roughly 40-minute speech, during which he did not take questions from the media.
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“And I really do think this is a case… what happened yesterday with this judge, we were at odds… he’s a corrupt judge, and you’ll understand that. And I say that knowing it’s very dangerous to say that. And I don’t care, because I’m going to do whatever I have to do to protect our country and our Constitution. I don’t care,” Trump added.
