Former President Donald Trump addressed his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in a scheme to influence the 2016 election illegally by paying hush money to women who claimed to have had extramarital affairs with him. During his comments, he repeated false or unsupported claims he has made throughout the trial and while campaigning for a second term as president. Speaking from Trump Tower, he made various false claims ranging from blaming the Biden administration for the hush money case to making false claims about the trial and other national issues.
Here are some of those claims.
CLAIM: “This is all done by Biden and his people.”
THE FACTS: Trump has repeatedly said, without evidence, that the indictments were politically orchestrated by Democratic President Joe Biden and his administration to keep him out of the White House. However, Biden and his administration do not have any control over this prosecution.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought the case as a state-level prosecutor. His office does not operate under the Justice Department or any White House office. Biden called Trump’s reaction to the jury’s guilty verdict “irresponsible.”
CLAIM: “We weren’t allowed to use our election expert under any circumstances.”
THE FACTS: Trump was referring to campaign finance expert Bradley A. Smith, whom Judge Juan M. Merchan did not prohibit from testifying. Trump’s legal team chose not to call on him after the judge declined to expand the scope of questioning the defense could pursue.
The ruling upheld his pretrial ruling, limiting the questions that Smith could answer. Merchan stated that, if called, Smith could provide general background information about the FEC and offer definitions for terms related to campaign contributions. However, he could not interpret the law or give opinions on whether Trump’s actions violated those laws.
CLAIM: “They missed the statute of limitations by a lot because this was very old. They could have brought this seven years ago instead of bringing it right in the middle of the election.”
THE FACTS: Judge Merchan denied Trump’s legal team’s request to dismiss the indictment based on the statute of limitations. The judge cited executive orders issued by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the pandemic that extended the time for filing criminal charges.
New York’s statute of limitations for most felonies is five years. The indictment against Trump was filed just under the deadline due to the extension granted by Cuomo’s executive orders.
CLAIM: “Record levels of terrorists, record levels, the highest level we’ve ever seen of terrorists are pouring into our country.”
THE FACTS: While the number of individuals on the terrorist watch list has increased, federal immigration authorities note that these cases are rare and constitute a small percentage of total migrants crossing the border. Trump’s claim about Chinese migrants building an army lacks evidence. Although there has been a significant increase in Chinese migrant arrests, there is no proof they are forming a military force or training network. Interviews with these migrants reveal they are seeking refuge or a better life.
CLAIM: “This is the crime that I committed that I’m supposed to go to jail for 187 years for when you have violent crime all over this city at levels that nobody’s ever seen before.”
THE FACTS: Crime levels in New York City are not as high as in the 1990s. NYPD data shows a decrease in major crimes compared to previous years. The number of murders and shootings has declined significantly. Each of Trump’s 34 charges carries a maximum of four years in prison, totaling up to 136 years. However, New York imposes a maximum of 20 years for consecutive sentences on such charges, and it will ultimately be up to Judge Merchan to decide on Trump’s punishment.
CLAIM: “They’re falsifying business records. That sounds very bad. You know, it’s only a misdemeanor.”
THE FACTS: Trump was convicted on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, which is a Class E felony in New York, not a misdemeanor.
CLAIM: “This is about a federal election, not a state election. You’re not even allowed to look at it. They took the state and the city and they went into a federal election. They’re not allowed.”
THE FACTS: Manhattan prosecutors did not charge Trump with federal violations but listed the allegations as one of three “unlawful acts” for the jury to consider. To convict Trump, jurors had to find that he falsified records to commit or hide another crime, which prosecutors argued was a violation of state election law. Jurors had three alleged “unlawful means” to consider, one of which involved federal campaign finance violations.
