At a news conference on Thursday, former President Donald Trump went on a rant filled with conspiracy theories after his attorneys finished their closing arguments at his civil fraud trial in New York. Trump criticized the state prosecutors who are pursuing over $370 million from him and his co-defendants following a ruling by a New York judge that they were responsible for repeated business fraud.
He propagated the unfounded conspiracy theory that President Joe Biden orchestrated the civil and criminal cases against him to sabotage Trump's presidential campaign. Here's a fact check of some of Trump's statements on Thursday.
Trump on Bidens role in his legal cases
Trump blamed Biden for his legal troubles, and accused the president of weaponizing law enforcement to block him from returning to the White House.
Trump falsely claimed that all of his legal issues, both civil and criminal, were orchestrated by Joe Biden for election interference. In reality, Biden has no involvement in Trump's legal cases, particularly the New York case which was launched by state investigators.
The claim that Biden is responsible for the New York civil trial is not valid. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, initiated the investigation in 2019 before Biden became president. Biden's closest connection to a Trump case is through his appointment of Attorney General Merrick Garland, who in turn appointed the special counsel that indicted Trump in two federal criminal cases related to the 2020 election and classified documents at Mar-a-Lago. However, this does not imply substantial involvement by Biden.
Trump on the fraud law hes accused of violating
Trump's headaches extend beyond Biden and Democratic prosecutors. One example is the case of E. Jean Carroll, a private citizen unrelated to the Biden White House, who is suing Trump for defamation. Last year, a jury determined that Trump had sexually abused Carroll and defamed her by denying her assault allegations.
Trump alleged that James' office had misused a New York fraud law to target him and his businesses.
"This is a consumer fraud statute that has never been used in this manner before, and it is regrettable," Trump asserted.
Facts First:Â This is false. The law has been used before, even in a case against Trump University years ago.Â
CNNs Daniel Dale previously fact checked this claim in December.
New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit that led to the civil trial, invoking New York Executive Law 63(12), a statute that has been utilized for decades by New York attorneys general against various entities, including an e-cigarette company, school bus companies, and oil and gas giant ExxonMobil. Additionally, it had been used against Trump University and the Trump Foundation.