Trump blasts his ‘baseless’ indictment

COLUMBUS, Ga. — Former President Donald Trump on Saturday blasted his historic federal indictment as “ridiculous” and “baseless,” saying in his first public appearance since the charges were unsealed that the 37 felony counts were an attack on his supporters as he tried to turn legal peril into political advantage.

Speaking at the Georgia Republican Convention, Trump cast his indictment by the Department of Justice as an attempt to hurt his chances of returning to the White House as he campaigns for a second term in office.

“They’ve launched one witch hunt after another to try and stop our movement, to thwart the will of the American people,” Trump said, later adding, “In the end, they’re not coming after me. They’re coming after you.”

The strategy is a well-worn one for Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination despite his mounting legal woes. He planned to speak to a Republican audience in North Carolina later Saturday.

“Trump is a fighter, and the kinds of people that attend these conventions love a fighter,” said Jack Kingston, a former Georgia congressman who supported Trump’s White House campaigns in 2016 and 2020.

Trump said his political enemies had launched “one hoax and witch hunt after another” and claimed the charges against him were politically motivated.

“The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration’s weaponized Department of Injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country,” Trump told Georgia Republicans.

The indictment arrives at a time when Trump is continuing to dominate the primary race. Other candidates have largely attacked the Justice Department — rather than Trump — for the investigation.