Donald Trump's Reaction To His Second Indictment Includes A Line That's Out Of Character
Donald Trump is facing yet another serious legal battle. This past spring, the former president was charged with 34 felonies after he allegedly paid off adult film star Stormy Daniels and other people who could've potentially ruined his chance at becoming president, per NBC News. After Trump was arrested, he pleaded "not guilty" in court and has continued to deny he committed any crime. Now, Trump is facing even more legal trouble. According to BBC, Trump announced on June 8, via Truth Social, that he has been indicted for illegally storing classified files in his personal dwellings following his presidential run.
"The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax," Trump wrote. "I have been summoned to appear at the Federal Courthouse in Miami on Tuesday, at 3 PM," the former president added in a separate post. "I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election. I AM AN INNOCENT MAN."
Yet, in a follow-up email sent directly to his base, Trump expressed his discontent in a way that veers from his usual approach.
Donald Trump has rallied his supporters through email
Although Donald Trump has been actively defending his latest indictment over on Truth Social, he's reached out to his supporters in other ways. According to The New York Times, Trump spoke on his latest round of legal troubles in a fundraising email. "We are watching our Republic DIE before our very eyes," he wrote. "The Biden-appointed Special Counsel has INDICTED me in yet another witch hunt regarding documents that I had the RIGHT to declassify as President of the United States. This witch hunt began when the FBI RAIDED my home and then staged it to look like a made-for-TV crime scene with police sirens and flashing red and blue lights," he added. However, in an uncharacteristic move, Trump then asked his supporter to "make a contribution to peacefully stand" with him in his fight against these charges.
Following the email, Trump returned to Truth Social, hitting the caps lock as he wrote, "I AM AN INNOCENT MAN. THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS TOTALLY CORRUPT. THIS IS ELECTION INTERFERENCE & A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" Per ABC News reporter Katherine Faulders, Trump's charges include "everything from the willful retention of national defense information to conspiracy to a scheme to conceal, to false statements and representations."
Donald Trump's lawyers step down
Following the indictment, two lawyers for Donald Trump stepped down from his counsel. Jim Trusty and John Rowley announced in a joint statement on June 9 that they would no longer be representing the former president in the case, or the proceedings from the January 6 Capitol riots. However, they had encouraging words for Trump in the parting statement. "It has been an honor to have spent the last year defending him, and we know he will be vindicated in his battle against the Biden Administration's partisan weaponization of the American justice system," the statement from the two read, per CNBC.
Trump was seemingly unfazed by the development, as he took to Truth Social to not only thank Trusty and Rowley for their work but announce that he had found replacement counsel. "For purposes of fighting the Greatest Witch Hunt of all time, now moving to the Florida Courts, I will be represented by Todd Blanche, Esq., and a firm to be named later," Trump wrote.
Amid the indictment, some believed that Trump would have to withdraw from the 2024 presidential campaign, but that does not appear to be the case.
Mike Pence weighs-in on charges against Donald Trump
Although the indictment could be bad optics for Donald Trump's run at becoming president once again, the charges do not mean he would have to withdraw from the race. Jessica Levinson, founding director of Loyola Law School's Public Service Institute, explained how Trump was still within his legal rights to run for president in 2024. "It really just becomes an issue of, practically, how could you run the country behind bars, if ever came to something like that?" Levinson told USA Today.
Meanwhile, Trump's former running mate, Mike Pence, announced his bid for president in the 2024 election only days before the indictment. During a speech in Des Moines, Pence addressed the allegations against Trump — without explicitly naming the former president. "Anyone that puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. And anyone who asked someone else to put them over the Constitution should never be president of the United States again," Pence said, per ABC News.