Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump holds a press conference, the day after a guilty verdict in his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, at Trump Tower (Picture: Reuters)
Donald Trump, a day after becoming the first former US president to be convicted of a felony, claimed his witnesses in the hush money trial were ‘crucified’.
Speaking from Trump Tower on Friday morning, Trump said Judge Juan Merchan, who was overseeing the case, ‘looks like an angel, but he’s really a devil’.
‘As far as the trial itself, it was very unfair. We weren’t allowed to use our election expert under any circumstances,’ said Trump.
‘You saw what happened to some of the witnesses that were on our side, they were literally crucified by this man.’
Ex-President Donald Trump spoke from Trump Tower on Friday morning (Picture: CNN)
Trump complained about a ‘nasty gag order’ the judge imposed on him.
‘I’m the leading candidate, I’m leading (President Joe) Biden by a lot… and I’m under a gag order by a man who can’t put two sentences together,’ said Trump.
‘He’s nevertheless the president so we have to use his name.’
Trump suggested that his legal team told him not to testify and that he followed their advice to opt out. He said that he feared making a verbal misstep and getting prosecuted for perjury.
‘I would have loved to have testified,’ he said. ‘But you would have said something out of whack like, “It was a beautiful sunny day, and it was actually raining out.”‘
Trump claimed that prosecutors missed the statute of limitations for the case and could have brought it seven years ago, but chose to do so while he is running for president.
He also mentioned a new Daily Mail poll that had Trump up six points since his guilty verdict.
The presumptive 2024 Republican nominee was found guilty on Thursday of all 34 counts of falsifying business records around a $130,000 hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels to silence her on an alleged sexual affair.
Trump confirmed his team would be appealing the verdict because the ‘tyrant’ judge would not allow them to have witnesses, ‘would not allow us to talk’.
‘If they can do this to me, they can do this to anyone,’ said Trump.
Across the street from Trump Tower, supporters gathered and one held a large flag reading, ‘TRUMP OR DEATH.’
Trump said ‘I very much appreciate’ the crowd outside.
He said November 5, election day, ‘is the most important day in the history of our country’.
‘I’m willing to do whatever I have to do to save our country and save our Constitution,’ he said. ‘So we will continue the fight.’
This is a developing news story, more to follow soon… Check back shortly for further updates.
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