Speaking after his shocking felony conviction on all 34 counts brought against him by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, former President Donald Trump described how the ridiculous trial had impacted his family life and has, in Trump’s view, unnecessarily and unfairly restricted his free speech rights. That speech problem was exacerbated by the gag order that came with the conviction.
Before speaking about how the case had hurt his family life, the former president described what his legal team would be doing in response to the conviction, vowing a multitude of appeals and calling out what he saw as his side’s unfair treatment at the hands of Judge Juan Merchan. The call for appeals was, for reference, echoed by Trump’s lawyer, who said that the trial might have even violated Trump’s constitutional rights.
In any case, Trump, calling the case a scam and vowing to appeal the conviction, said, “We’re going to be appealing this scam. We’re going to be appealing it on many different things. He [Judge Juan Merhcan] wouldn’t allow us to have witnesses, he wouldn’t allow us to talk, he wouldn’t allow us to do anything. The judge was a tyrant.”
He also emphasized that his side would be fighting, even when most others would have backed down and given up far earlier, such as with the two impeachment battles he faced. He said, “We’re going to fight. I’m wired in such a way that a lot of people would have gone away a long time ago. They would have gone away after impeachment hoaxes.”
Continuing, he described how the case was “very bad” for his family and for the friends of the family, along with their businesses, saying, “It’s not that it’s pleasant — it’s very bad for family; it’s very bad for friends and businesses, but I’m honored to be involved in it because somebody has to do it, and I might as well keep going and be the one.”
But, despite those immense costs, he said he was honored to be the one to stand up and fight for the Constitution and try to save the country. He said, “I’m very honored to be involved because we’re fighting for our Constitution. I don’t mind because I’m willing to do whatever I have to do to save our country and to save our Constitution. I don’t mind.”
Building on that point, he said that such criminal cases against presidents ought not be allowed to happen and that the general situation and the case is about more than just getting him. As he put it, “This can’t be allowed to happen to other presidents; it should never be allowed to happen in the future. But this is far beyond me. This is bigger than Trump. This is bigger than me.”
Watch him here:
President Joe Biden, for his part, has defended the case. He said, before a speech on the Israel-Gaza situation, “It was a state case, not a federal case. It was heard by a jury of 12 citizens, 12 Americans, 12 people like you, like millions of Americans who’ve served on juries. This jury was chosen the same way every jury in America is chosen. It was a process that Donald Trump’s attorney was part of,”
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