President-elect Donald Trump started his press conference on Tuesday by criticizing President Joe Biden and the legal cases against him.
Trump said, “If we do go to court, they try to be sneaky. This is the same man who said he wants a smooth transition, but they’re doing everything to embarrass me. I did nothing wrong, absolutely nothing. If I had, I wouldn’t be standing here now because I’ve won all my cases.” He then shifted to criticize Special Counsel Jack Smith, who investigated and charged Trump in two cases.
“No one has ever won as many cases as I have against the Justice Department. Jack Smith had cases everywhere, ruining people’s lives, taking their money. They didn’t even know what they were being questioned about. It was all to influence the election. This was a fight against a political opponent. We’ve never seen this in the U.S., only in places like banana republics. They brought this guy from The Hague. He’s mean, nasty, and looks like a bad guy. He shouldn’t be allowed to make decisions because he’s crazy. But we beat him in every case.”
Despite Trump’s claims, Jack Smith’s work at The Hague didn’t involve executions, as the Netherlands doesn’t have the death penalty. However, Smith did secure a death sentence in New York for a gang member who killed two police officers, though that sentence was later overturned.
Trump also defended Judge Aileen Cannon, whom he appointed, saying, “I don’t know her, but she was brilliant and courageous in Florida. The left plays dirty, attacking judges and prosecutors to pressure them. But Judge Cannon stood firm. Her ruling was so strong they dropped their appeal.”
Trump then accused Biden’s team of making the transition difficult and criticized recent restrictions on offshore drilling. “They’ve blocked 625 million acres of offshore drilling. No other country does this. But I’ll reverse it on my first day in office. If needed, we’ll take it to court, but I don’t think it should come to that.”
