Former US President Donald Trump denounced the indictment in a federal court in Miami as an “abhorrent abuse of power.”
Before supporters gathered at the businessman’s golf club in New Jersey (northeast), on Tuesday, Trump accused his Democratic successor, Joe Biden, of “being corrupt” and of attacking the “main political opponent.”
“This is electoral meddling,” said the Republican, who will run for president in 2024.
Trump also promised, if he wins the election, to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Biden.
“I will appoint a serious special prosecutor to go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family,” he said.
Trump criticized the special counsel in charge of the documents case, saying that Jack Smith is engaged in “political assassinations” and that the Justice Department’s decision to indict him was politically motivated.
The businessman argued that he had the authority to declassify sensitive material and confidential documents at his discretion and claimed that former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush also did so without being charged with any crime.
Hours earlier, the former US president pleaded “not guilty” before a federal court in Miami for 37 federal charges related to embezzlement and concealment of classified documents.
The first former US head of state to be criminally charged by the federal courts, Trump appeared before federal judge Jonathan Goodman, who notified him of the 37 charges brought by a Grand Jury, for having diverted confidential documents to Mar-a- Mansion. in southern (southeast) Florida.
The 76-year-old Republican is accused of endangering the security of the United States by storing confidential documents, including military plans or information about nuclear weapons, in places such as a bathroom or ballroom in his mansion.
Trump is also accused of having refused to return these documents, which earned him the accusation of “unlawful withholding of information related to national security”, but also of “obstruction of justice” and “false testimony”.
Trump’s lawyers, who spoke little during the hearing and kept their arms folded throughout, called for him to be tried by a jury.
The full reading of the 37 indictments was not carried out at the request of Trump’s defense, which indicated that it was already aware of them.
The White House rejected Trump’s accusations of interference and reiterated that the head of state, Joe Biden, is not involved in any way in the former president’s legal proceedings.
“The Department of Justice is independent,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said at a news conference.
Source: TSF
