Former President Donald Trump equated himself to being a martyr during a speech at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference, telling the crowd, “I’m being indicted for you.”
Speaking at the event in Washington, D.C., Trump slammed the Department of Justice (DOJ) and President Joe Biden for having “weaponized law enforcement,” in response to his indictment charges.
“Every time the radical left Democrats, Marxists, communists, and fascists indict me, I consider it a great badge of courage,” said Trump during his speech on Saturday. “I’m being indicted for you, and I believe the you is more than 200 million people that love our country.”
Trump: I’m being indicted for you pic.twitter.com/6RboRDHc1w
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 25, 2023
Trump labeled the indictment charges against him as “the greatest witch hunt of all time.”
“They want to interfere with the upcoming election,” Trump said. “They want to demean, insult, do whatever is necessary to interfere.”
Earlier this month, Trump was charged with 37 federal counts of mishandling classified documents, conspiring to obstruct justice, and for providing false statements. Trump has pleaded not guilty in response to his indictment charges.
In a campaign video released in April, Trump vowed to “completely overhaul” both the DOJ and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
“As we completely overhaul the federal Department of Justice and FBI, we will also launch sweeping civil rights investigations into Marxist local District Attorneys,” said Trump in the campaign video.
Trump claimed at the conference that under the Presidential Records Act he “had every right to have these documents, personal belongings, and boxes.”
According to the National Archives press release, released on Jun 9, 2023, the Presidential Records Act “requires that all records created by Presidents (and Vice-Presidents) be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) at the end of their administrations.” The act also “requires the President to separate personal documents from Presidential records before leaving office.”
“I’m probably the only person in the history of this country that’s been indicted and my numbers went up,” said Trump in response to recent polls showing him as a front runner in the upcoming Republican primary in the 2024 Presidential election.
UPDATE [6/30/23, 11:16 a.m. EST]: IJR has issued an update to this article. An earlier version of this article did not include additional information on the Presidential Records Act. IJR also rephrased the previous paragraph changing Trump told to Trump claimed.