Donald Trump is airing grievances about the way the legal system has treated him, saying he’s the victim of “fake” stories, “false” charges and a corrupt Justice Department.
Mr. Trump delivered remarks at a 45-minute news conference in New York after his lawyers argued in a Manhattan courtroom that the verdict against him for sexually assaulting and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll should be overturned.
“Remember, it never happened,” Mr. Trump said of Ms. Carroll’s accusation. “It was made up for political reasons, and the DOJ is behind everything. It is political interference. It is a witch hunt.”
A jury in May 2023 found Mr. Trump liable for sexually abusing Ms. Carroll in a department store in 1996 and awarded her $5 million. That came before another jury in January awarded her $83.3 for defamation.
John Sauer, an attorney for Mr. Trump, said the jury in the case was “polluted” by testimony from women who claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Mr. Trump but had no proof.
“Now it is really important to remember that E. Jean Carroll’s story at its heart is an utterly implausible he-said-she-said story,” Mr. Sauer said. “There is no corroboration for anything she has ever claimed about President Trump.”
Mr. Trump said the case is part of a larger plot his political foes have hatched against him in hopes of blocking him from winning the 2024 presidential election.
“We have a whole rigged election system,” he said.
Mr. Trump is days away from facing off Tuesday on the debate stage for the first time against Vice President Kamala Harris, whom the party subbed in for President Biden in July.
Mr. Trump and Ms. Harris are neck and neck in the battleground states that will decide the Nov. 5 election. In the latest sign of her momentum, the Harris campaign announced she nearly tripled Mr. Trump’s fundraising haul in August.
At his news conference, Mr. Trump reiterated previous claims that he never knew Ms. Carroll and that she fabricated the story against him.
He also recounted past sexual assault accusations women have made against him, dismissing them as bogus.
Mr. Trump said the people behind the legal challenges against him want to boost Ms. Harris because they know “she can’t talk.”
“This case is a scam,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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