Former President Donald Trump delivered his promised remarks from Mar-a-Lago surrounded by loved ones and supporters following his arraignment, with some particularly pointed remarks for the presiding judge’s family.
(Video: CNN)
After spending Monday night at Trump Tower in New York City, the president endured the media circus of his unprecedented arraignment at criminal court and then returned to his home in Palm Beach, Florida. There, three of his children were joined by their significant others in support, including Eric, Don Jr., and Tiffany beside Lara, Kimberly Guilfoyle and Michael Boulos respectively.
They listened on with a packed room as Trump called out the political persecution spearheaded by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and now overseen by Judge Juan Merchan, who had sat for the Trump Organization’s tax fraud trial.
“And this is where we are right now,” the president railed. “I have a Trump-hating judge with a Trump-hating wife and family, whose daughter worked for Kamala Harris and now receives money from the Biden-Harris campaign, and a lot of it.”
The judge’s daughter, Loren Merchan, is the president of Authentic Campaigns which had worked for President Joe Biden, along with other Democratic campaigns. She also worked directly on then-Sen. Kamala Harris’ own 2020 presidential campaign.
“We recently had another trial and the same judge told a fine man who worked for me for many, many years, that if you admit your guilt you will be in jail for 90 days, but if you don’t, if we go through a trial and you’re found guilty, you’re going away for 10 years and maybe longer; which, for a 75-year-old man with a great family, really means life,” Trump continued.
“What the prosecutors and judge did to that man I will never forget,” he said, “because it’s right out of the old Soviet Union.”
While focusing on Merchan’s family and behavior, many noticed the absence of former first lady Melania Trump at the speech, whom the New York Post reported had not been seen since the couple dined after Thursday’s indictment. Some speculation suggested that she was keeping her distance of herself and her son Barron due to the nature of the case related to payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, whom Trump was alleged to have had an affair with some time after Melania had given birth.
Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner were also absent from the gathering, but they had already stated their intent to remain away from the politics of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Trump also took aim at Bragg and said, “The criminal is the district attorney because he illegally leaked massive amounts of Grand Jury information for which he should be prosecuted, or at a minimum, he should resign.”
The planned address had come amidst the possibility of a gag order being placed on the president, and though Merchan had not moved forward on that, he had warned that one could be issued should Trump’s public remarks cross a line, the Daily Mail reported.
As had been covered, leading up to the arraignment, the one-time commander-in-chief’s Truth Social account unloaded his grievance against the believed politically motivated witch hunt, and that included a similar shot at Merchan that also criticized the Manhattan venue.
“VERY UNFAIR VENUE, WITH SOME AREAS THAT VOTED 1% REPUBLICAN. THIS CASE SHOULD BE MOVED TO NEARBY STATEN ISLAND – WOULD BE A VERY FAIR AND SECURE LOCATION FOR THE TRIAL,” he posted Tuesday morning. “ADDITIONALLY, THE HIGHLY PARTISAN JUDGE & HIS FAMILY ARE WELL KNOWN TRUMP HATERS. HE WAS AN UNFAIR DISASTER ON A PREVIOUS TRUMP RELATED CASE, WOULDN’T RECUSE, GAVE HORRIBLE JURY INSTRUCTIONS, & IMPOSSIBLE TO DEAL WITH DURING THE WITCH HUNT TRIAL. HIS DAUGHTER WORKED FOR ‘KAMALA’ & NOW THE BIDEN-HARRIS CAMPAIGN. KANGAROO COURT!!!”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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