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Former President Donald Trump has alleged that recent indictments against him are part of an election strategy by President Joe Biden's campaign to damage his chances in the next presidential election.
Trump made the claim in posts on his Truth Social platform on Friday, with just days to go before the first Republican presidential primary debate that the former president is not expected to attend.
His comments come after Trump has faced four separate criminal indictments on multiple charges in different jurisdictions and amid his continued criticisms of those who have brought charges against him.
The former president has now been charged with 91 crimes in four indictments and he denies all wrongdoing.
"These bogus Indictments are done by one man, my Political Opponent (Crooked Joe Biden), who is telling everyone to Indict Trump, take him off the campaign trail, and let him spend his money on legal fees rather than ads saying that Biden is the WORST and MOST CORRUPT President in the history of the United States," Trump wrote.
"That is their campaign strategy—Illegal as Hell—But WE WILL WIN!!!" he added.
In a later post on Truth Social, Trump wrote: "'Hey, I'm running against a guy, I'm going to Indict him 3 or 4 times to keep him busy.' Does anyone think that Crooked Joe Biden would have said something like this??? MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"
Newsweek has reached out to the Biden campaign via email for comment.
Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, a Trump ally, also suggested on Friday that indictments against Trump come when Biden is facing bad news.
"They're probably gonna throw something more at him because whenever there's bad news on Joe Biden, there's another indictment that rolls out on President Trump," Lake told Newsmax's Eric Bolling.
While Trump has sought to blame Biden for the indictments, charges against the former president have been laid by grand juries in Georgia, Washington, D.C., Florida and Manhattan.
Earlier this month, a D.C. grand jury indicted Trump on four charges in the Capitol riot probe: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.
The former president has pleaded not guilty to the charges and denied all wrongdoing. Those charges arise from Special Counsel Jack Smith's investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
Separately, a date has been set in the Department of Justice's other set of charges against Trump, which accuse him of mishandling classified documents discovered at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, estate last August. That trial will begin on May 20, 2024.
A trial involving criminal charges in Manhattan regarding several alleged hush-money payments is set to begin on March 25, 2024. Trump has also pleaded not guilty in both cases.
In an indictment unsealed on Monday, a grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, indicted Trump on 13 charges related to alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election in that state.
Trump has denied all wrongdoing and he and 18 others charged have until August 25 to "voluntarily surrender."
About the writer
Darragh Roche is a U.S. News Reporter based in Limerick, Ireland. His focus is reporting on U.S. politics. He has ... Read more