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Trump Says He Would Stay in 2024 Race if Indicted


OXON HILL, Md. – Former President Donald J. Trump said on Saturday that he would not quit the 2024 presidential race if he was indicted in some of the investigations he is facing.

Mr. Trump made these comments to a conservative media group ahead of his speech at the Conservative Political Action Coalition conference in National Harbor, Md. This is the first time Mr. Trump has spoken publicly about how he would react if indicted while actively searching. presidency, an event that will rock the 2024 election campaign.

Mr. Trump is facing two state investigations — one in New York City and the other in Fulton County, Ga. — as well as two federal investigations led by special counsel Jack Smith. Mr. Smith is investigating Mr. Trump’s attempt to impede a peaceful transition of power after losing the 2020 election, as well as Mr. Trump’s possession of hundreds of classified and presidential documents. his private club, Mar-a-Lago.

The exact status of the efforts is unclear, but two state investigations are believed to be in an advanced stage.

Mr Trump was unequivocal when asked on Saturday whether he would stay in the race if one of the prosecutors brought an indictment. “Oh sure. I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” he said, adding that he believes an indictment would boost his vote count.

It is not uncommon for a candidate facing legal issues to say that they will continue to run regardless of whether they are indicted or to claim that an investigation is politically motivated. But it’s uncharted territory for a former president who is running as a poll lead in the primaries to weave between the candidate and defending against elections. investigate.

Some people close to Mr Trump have said he believes his presidential campaign can be used as a baton to hit back at prosecutors. In his speech on Saturday, Mr. Trump repeatedly accused prosecutors of being corrupt and politically motivated, without presenting any evidence. As he has done for years, he conducts the investigations not as a result of his own actions, but as an attempt to silence the voices of his supporters.


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“I am your warrior. I am your justice,” Trump told the crowd, before appearing to promise a payback if elected to a new term. “And to those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your punishment.”

He went on to describe the campaign in clear, almost apocalyptic terms: “That’s it, either they win or we win. And if they win, we have no country left.”

Mr. Trump insisted he became a target once he entered politics.

Mr Trump, who has sued and been sued hundreds of times in civil courts and was first investigated by federal officials in 1970s Brooklyn, said: “I don’t know the word ‘subpoena’ ‘.

Mr. Trump has clearly tried to link his candidacy to potentially indictable status. “Every time the probes get higher and higher, prosecutors get crazier and crazier,” he said.

In fact, the January 6 riots, in which Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, had a negative impact on Mr Trump’s poll results. His support also dropped in the weeks after the FBI raided Mar-a-Lago in August to recover documents. Mr. Trump’s aides claim they have carried out a careful search in response to a grand jury subpoena. Some of the documents the FBI found are among the most secret the government has.

Mr. Trump’s remarks on Saturday were just his latest attempt to support the Capitol riots and which his supporters have joined.

Over the summer, Mr. Trump met with Cynthia Hughes, founder of the Patriotic Freedom Project, one of the largest legal defense funds available to those accused in connection with the attack, according to three people familiar with the matter. with the project.

The meeting leads to a video claiming to support Mr. Trump’s speech was broadcast at an event the group organized in Washington in December. Some people connected with the Patriotic Freedom Project were ultimately disappointed that Mr. Trump had personally donated only $10,000 to the cause. organization.

Mr. Trump also featured in a song released this week on streaming services called “Justice for all” including a number of January 6 defendants being held in a Washington prison before trial. In the song, Trump can be heard reciting “The Pledge of Allegiance” as a group of about 20 inmates, calling themselves the J6 Prison Choir, sing “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the song they sing. sing every night at the prison.

Alan Feuer contribution report.

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