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EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump said his federal indictment is “election interference at the highest level,” telling Fox News Digital that the Biden administration is “the most corrupt” in history.
During an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital Thursday night, Trump said the case is “election interference” and “the greatest witch hunt of all time.” Trump said on Tuesday he will “of course” plead not guilty to the charges in federal court, saying he is “totally innocent.”
Trump, the current front-runner in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, was indicted Thursday night on federal charges stemming from Special Counsel Jack Smith’s months-long investigation into the former president’s alleged inappropriate retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago .
TRUMP EXPLAINED FOR FEDERAL COSTS RELATED TO DOCUMENT HANDLING AND OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICES
Trump is listed in the indictment, which has not been unsealed, as a criminal defendant facing at least seven counts of obstruction of justice, conspiracy and illegal preservation of classified government materials. He is due to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday. The charges remain unsealed.
Former US President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Waco Regional Airport in March 2023. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“This is the most corrupt administration in history — there has never been a government this corrupt before, and they are only just beginning to discover it,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “They’re trying to deflect all their dishonesty by bringing this ridiculous Box Hoax case.”
He added: “They’re not getting away with it.”
JOE BIDEN PAID $5M BY BURISMA EXECUTIVE AS PART OF A BRIBER PROGRAM, ACCORDING TO FBI DOCUMENT
“I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong,” he said, citing the Presidential Records Act and saying it “makes me completely innocent.”
President Biden is being investigated by special counsel for his alleged unauthorized retention of classified documents from his time as vice president in the Obama administration and as a senator.
When asked if he thought Biden could also be indicted, Trump said, “Probably not — nothing will happen.”
A view of former US President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, in Palm Beach, Florida, US, March 31, 2023. (REUTERS/Ricardo Arduengo)
He said the charges were filed Thursday because it was the same day an allegation first emerged by Fox News Digital that Biden received $5 million for involvement in a bribery scheme.
Fox News Digital exclusively reported hours before the indictment that a confidential human source told the FBI during a June 2020 interview that President Biden was allegedly paid $5 million by an executive of the Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings, where his son Hunter Biden sat on the plate.
Well-known sources informed Fox News Digital of the contents of the subpoenaed FBI-generated FD-1023 form alleging a criminal bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden and a foreigner involving influence over US policy decisions.
President Joe Biden (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“The reason they did this today, at this time, is because the $5 million was found in the document, and that’s just the beginning,” Trump said.
Fox News Digital exclusively reported that the FD-1023 form was an interview with a “highly credible” confidential source who gave details of multiple meetings and conversations he or she had with a top Burisma executive over the course of several years, beginning in 2015. Fox News Digital has not seen the form, but it has been described by several sources aware of its contents.
TRUMP TARGETS: A LOOK AT PROBES AT THE FORMER PRESIDENT; FROM STORMY DANIELS TO RUSSIA TO MAR-A-LAGO
Well-known sources told Fox News Digital that the confidential human source believes the $5 million payment to Joe Biden and the $5 million payment to Hunter Biden took place, based on his or her conversations with Burisma’s executive.
President Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, disembark Air Force One at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York, on Saturday, February 4, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The confidential source said Burisma’s executive told him he “paid” the Bidens in such a way through so many different bank accounts that investigators wouldn’t be able to unravel it for the next 10 years.
The document then refers to “the Big Guy”, which is said to be a reference to Joe Biden.
Burisma’s director told the confidential source that he “did not pay the Big Guy directly”.
A well-known source said, according to the document, that the $5 million payments appeared to refer to some kind of “advance” Burisma intended to pay the Bidens to solve a number of problems, including his attempt to close the Burisma investigation. led by Ukrainian prosecutor Viktor. Shokin. Another source called the arrangement a “pay-to-play” arrangement.
Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president, he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire prosecutor Viktor Shokin. At the time, Shokin was researching Burisma Holdings, and at the time, Hunter had a very lucrative role on the board, receiving thousands of dollars a month. The then vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion in critical US aid if Shokin was not fired.
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In 2019, then-President Donald Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine — specifically Hunter Biden’s ventures with Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings and Joe Biden’s successful attempt to have Shokin impeached.
Trump was later impeached by the House of Representatives for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — all stemming from the call and question about the Bidens’ dealings. The Senate voted to acquit in February 2020.
“I asked the right question,” Trump said, referring to his phone call with Zelenskyy in July 2019. “I said, if you have corruption in the Biden administration, call our attorney general — I was doing my job — and it turns out that my work has been done correctly.”
Brooke Singman is a digital political reporter for Fox News. You can reach her at [email protected] or @BrookeSingman on Twitter.
