Trump Criticizes Prosecutors Following Booking

September,15,,2015,,Donald,Trump,,2016,Republican,Presidential,Candidate,,Speaks

Former President Donald Trump sharply criticized the charges filed against him in Fulton County, Georgia. In his first interview following being booked on a number of charges stemming from the aftermath of the 2020 election Thursday, Trump said that he faced “a weaponized Justice Department.”

“It’s a very sad experience, and it’s a very sad day for our country,” he said.

The former president said that the other individuals charged in the Fulton County RICO case are having their lives “destroyed by these maniacs,” referencing the prosecutors. “These are animals. These are vicious animals that have destroyed the lives of these people.”

He further called the other defendants “high-quality people” who were “unfairly dragged into this.”

“They have to be released from this horrible thing that they’re going through,” he said. “It’s just a horrible thing.”

Trump referenced efforts by the Republican Party to secure future elections. He said that he assisted Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to prevent “fake ballots put in, and that’s the most important thing.”

The 45th president also referenced the mugshot taken by Fulton County officials, stating that it was “not a comfortable feeling, especially when you’ve done nothing wrong.”

This is all about election interference. It all comes through Washington and the DOJ and crooked Joe Biden — nothing like this has ever happened in our country before.”

He called the charges a “travesty of justice” and “election interference” in his comments following his appearance at the Fulton County jail.

“You should be able to challenge an election,” he said. “I thought the election was a rigged election, a stolen election.”

He further compared his questioning of the 2020 election results to Democratic candidates, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.

“When you have that great freedom to challenge, you have to be able to,” he said. “Otherwise you can have very dishonest elections.”

The former president also posted on X, also known as Twitter, for the first time since early 2021. He posted a photo of the mugshot with his website address and the text “NEVER SURRENDER!” underneath.