Trump following indictment: 'This is political persecution'
Former President Donald Trump slams his indictment as a 'witch hunt.'
Former President Trump on Thursday reacted to his indictment, slamming Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for his "obsession" with trying to "get Trump," while warning the move to charge him will "backfire."
TRUMP INDICTMENT: LIVE UPDATES
The former president and leading 2024 Republican presidential candidate was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on Thursday after a years-long investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
Former President Donald Trump speaks to the media during an election night event at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 8, 2022. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
TRUMP INDICTED AFTER MANHATTAN DA PROBE FOR HUSH MONEY PAYMENTS
"This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," Trump said in a statement. "From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats- the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this country- have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again Movement."
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference after Steve Bannon, former adviser to former President Donald Trump, surrendered at the New York District Attorney's office to face charges in New York City on Sept. 8, 2022. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
"You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this," Trump said, referring to the investigations that clouded his presidency.
"The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable—indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference," Trump said. "Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done."
Former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at the Waco Regional Airport in Waco, Texas, on Saturday. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Trump said Democrats "have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever."
He slammed Bragg, saying he was "hand-picked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace."
"Rather than stop the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, he’s doing Joe Biden’s dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on," he said. "This is how Bragg spends his time!"
Trump shifted, pointing to President Biden.
A doorman stands outside of Trump Tower in Manhattan as the nation waits for the possibility of an indictment against former President Donald Trump by the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office in New York City on March 22, 2023. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
"I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden," Trump said. "The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it."
He added: "So our Movement, and our Party—united and strong—will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Former President Donald Trump, left, and President Biden. (Getty Images)
Bragg has been investigating Trump for hush money payments made leading up to the 2016 presidential election.
These include the $130,000 payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, and the $150,000 payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, Fox News Digital has learned.
Hush money payments made to both McDougal and Daniels were revealed and reported by Fox News in 2018. Those payments had been investigated by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York and by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted out of charging Trump related to the Daniels payment in 2019, even as former Trump attorney Michael Cohen implicated him as part of his plea deal. The FEC also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.
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