'We already have the win': Donald Trump speaks outside NYC courtroom after 1st day of jury deliberations
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Former president Donald Trump spoke outside the hush money trial Manhattan courtroom on Wednesday, May 29, after the jury's first day of deliberations. "You have a very, very I mean, what is very unfair is that I'm not campaigning, in this room all day long, from morning to night in the Biden witch hunt," Trump said, per Fox News.
The 77-year-old bemoaned the prosecution's failure to call "a lot of key witnesses," which he claims ought to have been done. He mentioned no names because of his gag order.
JUST IN: Donald Trump speaks after the first day of jury deliberations in the New York trial “If we had a fair judge, this case would have been over a long time ago. A lot of key witnesses were not called. pic.twitter.com/jvcPueX63y
— MAGA Elvis 🇺🇸 (@BenStanton77) May 29, 2024
Donald Trump said the hush money trial would have ended 'if we had a fair judge'
"Because of the gag order, I won't go down into individual names, but you have a lot of big players, very big players that would have solved their problem or actually would have given us the win. We already have the win...if we had a fair judge, this case would have been over a long time ago," Trump said.
"The other thing, the confusion is nobody knows what the crime is because there's no crime. Nobody knows what the crime is. The D.A. didn't name the crime. They don't know what the crime is. That's what the problem is. It's a disgrace," Trump added. "This thing ought to be ended immediately. The judge ought to end it and save his reputation," he said.
Former federal prosecutor says the defense has 'been begging for clarity'
Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky stated on Wednesday, May 29, that "we've seen this train coming for a long time" and that the defense has "been begging for clarity" regarding the precise charges on Trump.
He continued the defence needs clarity "about what this escalating offense really looks like, and now we see that all along was going to let the prosecutors, essentially, have this three-different-prong approach to that escalating offense," he told on 'The Story' on Fox News.
"I think the idea of representing a client necessitates that you have adequate notice of exactly what you're defending your client against," he continued. "I think it's a major issue in this case."
Cherkasky stated that they will have to start bringing up issues from the start of the trial to the finish, beginning with Judge Juan Merchan's "bias," if Trump is found guilty and an appeal is filed.
Another "real issue" with the case, according to Cherkasky, is the prosecution's attempt of "showing other bad conduct of Donald Trump in order to prove his criminality" in this specific New York case.
Donald Trump asks New York Court of Appeals to expedite the review of his gag order
A Trump campaign spokesperson confirmed that the former president's attorneys filed a request with the New York Court of Appeals on Wednesday, requesting that the court expedite its review of the gag order imposed by Judge Merchan.
“President Trump has filed a request with the New York Court of Appeals seeking expedited review of the unconstitutional gag order imposed by Justice Merchan," Steven Cheung, Trump campaign spokesperson said.
"The Gag Order wrongfully silences the leading candidate for President of the United States, President Trump, at the height of his campaign while he holds a commanding lead in the polls," he said.
The Gag Order applies only to President Trump and not to any of his political opponents and critics, including Crooked Joe Biden, whose campaign held a bizarre press conference on the steps of the courthouse yesterday," he continued.
"The Election Interfering Gag Order violates the First Amendment rights of President Trump and all American voters, who have a fundamental right to hear his message as they decide how to cast their ballots," he added.