Trump moans criminal cases are keeping him from the campaign trail: ‘Must be Unconstitutional?’
Former President claims political opponents file ‘bogus cases against me so it becomes difficult for me to campaign’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Donald Trump is now complaining that the myriad criminal cases against him are keeping him from the campaign trail, claiming that it must be “unconstitutional”.
On Truth Social on Friday morning, Mr Trump moaned that President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland had filed “bogus cases against me so it becomes difficult for me to campaign. Nothing like this has every (sic) happened before. Must be Unconstitutional? BUT SOMEHOW, WE WILL WIN IT ALL!!!”
The investigation into Mr Trump is being led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, a role which provides the prosecutor with more independence.
Also on Friday, Mr Trump hit out at Fox News, which he claimed was ignoring polls in which he leads President Joe Biden and primary rival Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.
“Why is it that Fox & Friends refuses to put up all of the polls where I am beating Biden, and DeSanctimonious is getting clobbered? He’s also down to me by 40 plus points, and not coming back. No wonder their ratings are way down!!!” he wrote.
A recent Times/Siena poll found that Mr Trump had a massive lead in the GOP primary with 54 per cent to Mr DeSantis’s 17 per cent with all the other candidates in the low single digits. The poll found Mr Trump tied with Mr Biden in a general election matchup with 43 per cent each.
Just before 8.30am on Friday, the morning after his arraignment in Washington DC on four charges in relation to his attempts to overturn the 2020 election, Mr Trump wrote: “CRAZY! My political opponent has hit me with a barrage of weak lawsuits, including D.A., A.G., and others, which require massive amounts of my time & money to adjudicate.”
“Resources that would have gone into Ads and Rallies, will now have to be spent fighting these Radical Left Thugs in numerous courts throughout the Country,” he added. “I am leading in all Polls, including against Crooked Joe, but this is not a level playing field. It is Election Interference, & the Supreme Court must intercede. MAGA!”
Mr Trump pleaded not guilty to four charges at his arraignment. In his third indictment this year, the second from Special Counsel Jack Smith, Mr Trump has been charged with 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 Supreme Court has been asked to adjudicate in matters in relation in the past, such as following the 2000 election between George W Bush and Al Gore, but it remains unclear exactly what Mr Trump is expecting the court to do in his case.