Trump goes on the offensive after indictment, pledging to investigate Biden

BEDMINSTER, N.J. — Former President Donald Trump on Tuesday night promised to appoint a special counsel to investigate his successor, attacking President Joe Biden for what he called “destroying the country” only hours after his arraignment on 37 federal felony charges in Florida.

Trump vowed to appoint a special prosecutor to look into the Biden family, which prompted cheers and chants of “lock him up!” from the audience. The idea followed Trump’s own proclamation that he was facing “political persecution like something out of a fascist or communist nation.”

The day would “go down in infamy,” he said, adding that on Election Day 2024, “justice will be done.”

Trump also hinted at what his defense might look like, claiming that photos included in the indictment — which show boxes stored in a bathroom and on a stage — were “staged,” and saying some of the boxes held memorabilia, not documents. Trump’s lawyers reviewed his speech, a person familiar with the matter said.

The goal of today was to “lay down a marker of how he wants to frame the entire case,” said Steven Cheung, a spokesperson for Trump.

The former president opened his remarks with familiar attacks on Biden and the Justice Department while maintaining that he did nothing wrong in stashing boxes of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, after leaving the White House at the end of his term.

Tuesday’s charges were nothing more than “political prosecution,” he told the crowd of his die-hard fans and allies who traveled to Bedminster for the last-minute invitation to hear him speak.

There was MyPillow CEO and election conspiracist Mike Lindell; Bernie Kerik, the former NYPD commissioner who was pardoned by Trump; conservative radio host and former White House official Sebastian Gorka; and Kash Patel, a Trump loyalist and former senior administration official. Dozens of Vietnamese American supporters of Trump wore matching red dresses with “Save America” emblazoned across the front, and they posed for photos in front of the clubhouse at his New Jersey golf club.

Mixed in were Trump donors who had already planned to attend a fundraiser at the club, along with members of Mar-a-lago in Florida and personal friends of Trump who came to show their support, like Dr. Robert Jeffress from the First Baptist Dallas megachurch. Some in attendance had political aspirations of their own, like Cleveland businessman Bernie Moreno, who is running for Senate and whose son-in-law Max Miller worked in the Trump administration and currently serves as a U.S. congressman from Ohio, as well as Jim Marchant of Nevada, an election denier who is running for Senate after a failed bid for secretary of State. Ed Cox, the current chair of the New York GOP and son-in-law of President Richard Nixon, was also spotted at the event.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) skipped his vote in Congress on Tuesday to travel to Bedminster in support of Trump, although the day before he had expressed concerns about whether he would be able to join.

Jeffress said he had been texting with Trump about the indictment news.

“I just have told him I’m praying for him, which I am, so I wanted to show him support,” he said. “Millions of people are praying for him, and this is not going to defeat him. This is going to make him stronger. I think these are serious charges, they are not frivolous. I think for the investigation and prosecution to have any merit it’s going to have all taint of election interference removed from it. I think the best thing Joe Biden could do is suspend the prosecution until after the election.”

Tuesday’s arraignment was Trump’s second since April, after he wascharged with 34 state felonies in New York over his alleged role in a scheme to cover up allegations of extramarital affairs ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

The former president held a similar speech following his previous arraignment, during which he assailed those involved in the case, including Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the case, and acting Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over the proceeding.

The current GOP front-runner is also facing two other ongoing criminal probes into his role in 2020 election interference, at least one of which could result in charges this summer.

The April indictment did not shake Trump’s standing in the polls, and a recent CBS News poll shows him holding a nearly 40-point lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his closest competitor in the race.

Antonio Rufa, a Trump supporter who came to see Trump’s remarks, said the indictment would only help the former president politically.

“They’re making [Trump] a martyr,” Rufa said. “Just look at the polls.”

Andrew Giuliani, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s son, who played golf with Trump the day after he learned of his indictment, said the ex-president seemed “unfazed.”

“I think he’s been no doubt frustrated with the way he’s been treated,” Giuliani said. “I would say more than ever he’s focused on the mission and what the next 17 months are going to take.”

Ahead of Trump’s speech, Bedminster members wandered in from rounds of golf and dinner at the club. Members had been invited to come see Trump’s remarks. After he wrapped, half of the crowd wandered inside where the former president planned to hold a “candlelight dinner,” photo opportunity and meet-and-greet with some of his top donors at the first major fundraiser of his campaign.