Donald Trump jokes about charges in first speech since historic indictment

Defiant Donald Trump joked about the swathe of charges he faces and claimed America has become “Venezuela on steroids” in his first public appearance since a damning historic indictment was unsealed against him.

In a speech to Republican supporters, Trump made a funny voice as he joked about the “espionage” accusations and imitated the Democrat administration claiming Trump is “obstructioning… obstructing” justice.

He claimed that, as a former president, the handling of his documents falls “under what is known as the Presidential Records Act, which is not at all a criminal act and everything.”

“It’s all judged by the Presidential Records Act in this whole fake indictment. They don’t even once mention the Presidential Records Act which is really the ruling Act, which this case falls under 100%,” he said.

And added: “Because they want to use something called the Espionage Act and that sounds terrible. Oh, espionage. We got a box – I got a box…” to laughter from many in the crowd.

The former US president is speaking to entirely friendly Republican audiences at the Georgia Republican Convention and trying to turn legal peril into political advantage.

A day after the indictment unsealed charged him with 37 felony counts over his hoarding of highly classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida – and accused him of potentially putting US national security at risk- he blasted it as “ridiculous” and “baseless” and said it was an attack on his supporters

“The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration’s weaponized ‘Department of Injustice’ will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country,” he said, referring to the indictment, and added that “this vicious persecution is a travesty of justice.”

Trump described it as a ” a sad, sad day for the country.”

Painting a terrible picture, he claimed: “We have fake elections. We have no borders. We have inflation we have everything is just going wrong.”

He added: “And we have to get a change because we’re not going to have a country left. Remember I used to campaign and I’d say that we’re going to end up being Venezuela on steroids. And that’s exactly what’s happening to our country. Our country’s going to hell.”

Among the most serious charges facing Trump are accusations he took and stored secret nuclear program files and described a Pentagon “plan of attack” to others.

He is accused of storing “information regarding defence and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries”.

It alleges Trump kept classified documents in the bathroom and shower at his Florida estate, as well as various other locations that included a ballroom, storeroom, office and bedroom.

In addition, the documents also included “United States nuclear programs, potential vulnerabilities of the US and its allies to military attack” and “plans for possible retaliation” in response to a foreign attack.

Trump cast his indictment by the Department of Justice as an attempt to hurt his chances of returning to the White House as he campaigns for a second term in office.

“They’ve launched one witch hunt after another to try and stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people,” Trump said, later adding, “In the end, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.”

The strategy is a well-worn one for Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination despite his mounting legal woes. He planned to speak to a Republican audience in North Carolina later Saturday.

Trump, who is facing mounting legal woes, as he tries to persuade voters in his run for the 2024 GOP nomination railed against the charges and repeated his assertions that he is the victim of a politically motivated “witch hunt”.

Trump is accused of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return classified documents, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telling his lawyers that he wanted to defy a subpoena for the materials stored at his residence.

The indictment includes allegations that he stored documents in a ballroom and bathroom at his resort, among other places.

The most serious charges carry potential prison sentences of up to 20 years each, but first-time offenders rarely get anywhere near the maximum sentence and the decision would ultimately be up to the judge.

For all that, Trump can expect a hero’s welcome this weekend as he rallies his fiercest partisans and aims to cement his status as his party’s leading presidential candidate.

“Trump is a fighter, and the kinds of people that attend these conventions love a fighter,” said Jack Kingston, a former Georgia congressman who supported Trump’s White House campaigns in 2016 and 2020.

Trump has insisted he committed no wrongdoing, saying, “There was no crime, except for what the DOJ and FBI have been doing against me for years.”

About 100 supporters, some waving “Witch Hunt” signs, showed up to the Columbus airfield to greet Trump. Jan Plemmons, 66, wearing an oversize foam “Make America Great Again” hat, called the federal charges “absolutely ridiculous” and said she was ready to campaign with Trump. To Michael Sellers, 67, it was “criminal what they’re doing to him.”

The federal charging document alleges that Trump not only intentionally possessed classified documents but also boastfully showed them off to visitors and aides.

Count three also stated: “The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods.”

The indictment accuses the former president of showing “classified documents to others” on two occasions.

The indictment is built on Trump’s own words and actions as recounted to prosecutors by lawyers, close aides and other witnesses, including his professing to respect and know procedures related to the handling of classified information.

Former Vice President Mike Pence also addresses North Carolina Republicans, making it the first time that he and his former boss would have appeared at the same venue since Mr Pence announced his own campaign this past week.