As jurors began deliberating Wednesday, former President Donald Trump appeared outside court in Manhattan and again portrayed himself as a victim of a "rigged" system.
"Mother Theresa could not beat these charges," he told reporters. "These charges are rigged. The whole thing is rigged. The whole country's a mess between the borders and fake elections and a trial like this, where the judge is so conflicted he can't breathe."
Trump has long chafed at Judge Juan Merchan, who he claimed "very, very corrupt," in particular for granting a prosecution request for a gag order that barred him from attacking witnesses, court staff, jurors and Merchan's family. It did not shield Merchan himself, however, and Trump appeared to violate the order several times without consequence.
As the trial closed, The Hill reported, Trump also complained that Merchan prevented him from invoking the advice-of-counsel defense that he acted reasonably based on the advice of lawyers around him, even though it was so far-fetched that his own team earlier declined to use it.
Trump posted on his website, Truth Social, that he didn't "EVEN KNOW WHAT THE CHARGES ARE IN THIS RIGGED CASE—I AM ENTITLED TO SPECIFICITY JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE. THERE IS NO CRIME!" Despite this claim, the 34 felony counts of falsifying business records are available for everyone to read. If Trump is found guilty, he could be moving out of Mar-a-Lago for a state prison.
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