Donald Trump slams Judge Juan Merchan as a 'devil'
Donald Trump slammed the judge in his historic hush money trial as a 'devil' who 'crucified' defense witnesses. In a blistering response to being convicted Trump said he was now facing '187 years in jail' at the hands of Judge Juan Merchan when he is sentenced on July 11.
Speaking at Trump Tower the former president said: 'You saw what happened to some of the witnesses that were on our side. 'They were literally crucified by this man who looks like an angel but he is really a devil.'
'He looks so nice and soft. People say he seems like such a nice man. Unless you saw him in action.' Trump returned to the campaign trail with a news conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan.
He was speaking a day after becoming the first former U.S. President to be convicted in a criminal trial. Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records on Thursday.
A jury found he did so in an attempt to illegally influence the 2016 election by hiding a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels. She claimed to have had a sexual encounter with Trump a decade before that, which he denied. The 34 counts each carry a possible maximum sentence of four years in prison.
Trump will be sentenced by Judge Merchan on July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention. He could face penalties ranging from prison to a fine or probation. The former president claims the case against him was orchestrated by his Democrat successor Joe Biden to try to keep him out of the White House.
Trump spokesman Jason Miller said: 'There is nobody who is more defiant. He's ready to get out there and start fighting again.' On Friday morning, Trump's campaign announced it had raised $34.8 million as donations poured in after the verdict.
That amounted to more than $1 million for each felony charge he was convicted of. It was also more than his political operation raised in January and February combined.
Trump campaign spokesman Brian Hughes cited the outpouring as a sign "that Americans have seen this sham trial as the political election interference that Biden and Democrats have always intended." "November 5th is the day Americans will deliver the real verdict!"
Trump and his campaign had been preparing for a guilty verdict for days, although they held out hope for a hung jury. On Tuesday, Trump said that not even Mother Teresa could beat the 'rigged' case.
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