Former President Trump on Tuesday blasted the criminal charges against him brought by the Justice Department, complaining they would keep him away from the campaign trail as he pursues a 2024 White House bid.
Trump used much of his speech to supporters in New Hampshire to rail against the indictments he is facing in Florida and Washington, D.C., over his handling of classified documents and his attempts to subvert the 2020 election, respectively.
He pinned the blame on President Biden directly, though Biden has largely refrained from commenting on the cases and has maintained he has had no contact with the Justice Department about the investigations into his predecessor.
“How can my corrupt political opponent, crooked Joe Biden, put me on trial during an election campaign that I’m winning by a lot, but forcing me nevertheless to spend time and money away from the campaign trail in order to fight bogus, made-up accusations and charges,” Trump said in Windham, N.H.
“I’m sorry, I won’t be able to go to Iowa today, I won’t be able to go to New Hampshire today because I’m sitting in a courtroom on bull‑‑‑‑ because his attorney general charged me with something,” Trump added.
The former president was indicted in June in Florida on charges alleging he violated the Espionage Act and obstructed justice in taking classified records from his presidency and refusing to return them.
Last week, Trump was indicted on four counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, over his efforts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election.
Despite those charges, Trump dug in Tuesday on his claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent, calling it a “rigged,” “stolen” and “disgusting” election.
In addition to those two federal cases, Trump is also facing charges in Manhattan over an alleged hush money scheme to keep quiet an alleged affair in the weeks before the 2016 election. And he is under investigation in Georgia for his efforts to overturn the state’s election results in 2020.
A trial in the Manhattan case is scheduled for March, while his trial in Florida is set for May, both in the heart of primary season. Trump is leading his GOP rivals comfortably in most primary polls, while surveys show a close race between Trump and Biden in a hypothetical 2024 rematch.