FORMER US President Donald Trump has called the federal indictment against him “ridiculous and baseless” in his first public appearance since the charges were announced.
A 37-count indictment made public on Friday accuses him of keeping sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago property.
The indictment amounted to “election interference” by the “corrupt” FBI and justice department, he said on Saturday.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
Mr Trump has been charged with mishandling hundreds of classified documents, including some about US nuclear secrets and military plans.
The indictment accused him of keeping the files at his Florida estate Mar-a-Lago including in a ballroom and a shower.
He lied to investigators and tried to obstruct their investigation into his handling of the documents, the indictment alleged.
It is the first ever criminal prosecution against a former US president.
In a speech on Saturday at a Republican Party convention in Georgia, Mr Trump said: “They’re cheating, they’re crooked, they’re corrupt – these criminals cannot be rewarded, they must be defeated.”
He joked that every time he flies over a “blue state” – one controlled by the Democrats – he gets subpoenaed.
Mr Trump, who is running for the White House again in 2024, called the indictment a “hoax” by the “corrupt political establishment”, also describing it as a “joke” and a “travesty”.
The speech went on for more than an hour.
