Former President Donald Trump is labeling new charges against him a form of harassment.
On Thursday, Special Counsel Jack Smith announced new charges related to allegations Trump mishandled classified documents. The new filing accuses the former president of trying to delete security camera footage.
Speaking to Fox News Digital, Trump reacted to the new charges as he said, “It’s election interference at the highest level.”
“They’re harassing my company, they’re harassing my family and by far, least importantly of all, they’re harassing me,” he continued.
He also called the new charges “ridiculous.”
“This is prosecutorial misconduct used at a level never seen before,” Trump claimed.
He added, “If I weren’t leading Biden by a lot in numerous polls, and wasn’t going to be the Republican nominee, it wouldn’t be happening. It wouldn’t be happening… But I am way up as a Republican and way up in the general election and this is what you get.”
Finally, Trump said the United States is “is suffering from DOJ abuse,” and expressed hope the Republican Party will “do something about it.”
Trump was already facing 37 charges for his handling of classified documents, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information, one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, one count of corruptly concealing a document or record, one count of concealing a document in a federal investigation, and one count related to making a false statement.
And the new charges bring the total number up to 40.
He has denied any wrongdoing and claimed “mutants” are behind the charges.
During an appearance on Fox News on Thursday night, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) blasted the new charges, as he asked, “Is there any coincidence that the DOJ rushes to add these new indictments today, after the Hunter debacle, after their own self-dealing and two-timing is exposed.”
Laura Ingraham claims the new Trump charges are a "distraction game" from Hunter, and brings on Sen. Hawley who claims DOJ is now "charging random people" in response to "the Hunter debacle." pic.twitter.com/s1oo7C5j7d
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) July 27, 2023
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for 2024 Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy said in a statement, “The election interference just keeps getting more egregious every time.”
“Obama shamefully deputized the FBI to try to infiltrate Trump’s campaign by using Clinton oppo research as the basis for a FISA warrant. 2020: Big Tech suppressed the most damning piece of evidence against Biden on the eve of an election which almost certainly changed its result. 2024: They’re leaving nothing to chance this time. Lock him up, facts or law be damned,” the statement added.
There is speculation Trump could be indicted on charges stemming from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Additionally, he is facing criminal charges in New York for allegedly falsifying business records.
