Former President Donald Trump is using the recent attempt on his life to call for the dismissal of all criminal charges and convictions pending against him, claiming that such a move should be made in the spirit of “uniting” the country.
Noting the recent dismissal of charges in his classified documents case by a federal judge he appointed — a dismissal that legal experts said was highly questionable — Trump claimed that other potential trials against him should also be dismissed, along with his conviction in a New York state-based trial in the spring.
“As we move forward in Uniting our Nation after the horrific events on Saturday, this dismissal of the Lawless Indictment in Florida should be just the first step, followed quickly by the dismissal of ALL the Witch Hunts,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
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Trump called for a dismissal of the January 6/election subversion case, in which he faces four indictment charges for attempting to illegally remain in office after the 2020 election; an overturn of his conviction in the New York criminal trial where he was found guilty of 34 counts relating to illegally concealing hush-money payments to women with whom he had extramarital affairs; a dismissal of the charges he faces in Georgia relating to trying to coerce election officials to overturn President Joe Biden’s win in the state; and a dismissal of the millions of dollars in civil penalties he owes to author E. Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for having sexually abused her in the 1990s.
Trump wrongly claimed that the Department of Justice had orchestrated his charges, insinuating, without evidence, that Biden had used the department to go after him for political reasons.
“The Democrat Justice Department coordinated ALL of these Political Attacks, which are an Election Interference conspiracy against Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME,” Trump said.
Trump concluded his post by suggesting that he was actually issuing a call for unity. “Let us come together to END all Weaponization of our Justice System, and Make America Great Again!” he wrote.
Trump issued a more humble call for “unity” just after he was hit in the ear with a bullet from a would-be assassin on Saturday. But his new Truth Social post seems to suggest his calls for unity are simply a demand for people to unite behind him as he continues to peddle false claims that the Biden administration is behind every investigation and charge against him.
The “unity” message was largely disregarded during the first night of the Republican National Convention on Monday, with GOP speakers pushing antisemitic tropes, attacking LGBTQ people and immigrants, and deriding Democrats for supposedly pushing a “radical far left agenda.”
A true call for “unity” might be the opposite of what Trump is calling for in his Truth Social message. Polling from earlier this year showcased that around two-thirds of Americans wanted Trump to face trial in the election subversion case before the 2024 presidential contest.
More recent polling shows that most Americans approve of the conviction Trump received in New York. According to an Economist/YouGov poll published in June, 51 percent of registered voters said they approved of the conviction, while only 38 percent said they did not.
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