Donald Trump on arraignment: They're 'weaponizing the system'
Former President Donald Trump reflects on his arraignment, Biden's withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Russia-Ukraine war and more on 'Tucker Carlson Tonight.'
Former President Donald Trump sounded off on Democratic prosecutors investigating and lodging legal cases against him as he runs for the White House, telling "Tucker Carlson Tonight" in an exclusive interview Tuesday he would not drop of the presidential race if he is convicted.
Trump accused the left of relying on tactics from the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) to stop him. Host Tucker Carlson noted Democrats like New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg appear to be trying to prevent Trump from making it to the general election by tying him up in lawsuits and charging him with crimes:
"The old Soviet process," Trump replied, appearing to reference the mantra credited to Soviet Internal Affairs Minister Lavrentiy Beria: "Show me the man, I'll show you the crime."
"It's so off, the statute of limitations are years off," he said, echoing critiques of legal scholars who have analyzed Bragg's indictment. Trump vowed he would "never drop out" if convicted.
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"It's not my thing, I wouldn't do it," he told Carlson.
Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin (1879-1953) seen in 1949 (Keystone/Getty Images)
Trump added that while many Democrats call him "terrible" and "guilty," there have been some who have surprised him by asserting he is innocent.
"I think it was Andrew McCabe, the FBI [assistant director] who I fired. He came out. He said 'they've got no case'."
He added that there have been other less-partisan legal scholars who essentially echo his innocence or the assertion Bragg has no case. The former president pointed to former New York federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, George Washington University Prof. Jonathan Turley and Harvard Law professor-emeritus Alan Dershowitz, calling them "down-the-middle people."
"Think of it, Tucker. I've been through seven years of investigations," he said, adding that after Democrats ultimately were successful in acquiring years of his tax returns, they could find little in dispute.
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The former president, however, added he disagreed with a court ruling that ultimately awarded the records to Rep. Richie Neal, D-Mass.
Trump said that in what he estimated to be millions of pages of documents throughout all investigations to-date, his detractors have found next to nothing to pin on him, leading them to feel they need to charge him as Bragg has.
"Think of this: So you have all of these millions and millions of pages, and they get you on a nondisclosure agreement," Trump said, appearing to refer to the payment agreement made by his fixer-turned-foil Michael Cohen to porn actress Stormy Daniels.
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"I mean, big numbers, billions and billions of dollars, and they get you on a perfect nondisclosure agreement where they get you and nothing," he said.
"A friend of mine who's a big business guy said, 'You have to be the most honest guy in the world, because with all of those numbers that you have, in those big numbers, they don't have anything'."
Trump also spoke at length about President Biden, whom he hopes to defeat in a 2024 rematch.
He questioned Biden's competency and ability to govern, saying that critiques of the president's age are not entirely the right tact.
Trump said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is older than Biden but much sharper, and that his friend and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus is 93 and still "smart as hell."
Trump said he had a meeting with Marcus several months ago and characterized him as "100%" compared to Biden.
He said Biden's purported shortcomings were on display during a softball interview with NBC meteorologist Al Roker on Monday.
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