Fact-checking Trump’s remarks after his historic conviction in the ‘hush money’ trial

Former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in Manhattan ended Thursday with a historical convictionand in remarks in New York On Friday morning, Trump continued to repeat false or misleading claims that frame the legal verdict as a partisan political attack.

CBS News verified four of Trump’s claims regarding his trial Friday morning.

Claim 1: “This is all done by Biden and his people. »

Former President Donald Trump repeatedly claimed that President Biden was behind the criminal trial in Manhattan: ‘They are in full collaboration with the White House and the DOJ, just so you understand,’ Trump said Friday morning, a day after his sentencing. “This is all done by Biden and his people.”

What we know

This statement is false. Mr. Biden had no direct influence or power over the lawyers or judge involved in this case. Additionally, the case was not brought by the U.S. Department of Justice. It was brought by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office. The trial did not take place in federal court, but rather within the New York court system.

Statement 2: “Now I’m being silenced, which no one has ever done. No presidential candidate has ever been silenced before.”

On Friday, Trump said he was still under silence from Judge Juan Merchan, echoing what his lawyer, Todd Blanche, said Thursday on Fox News.

What we know:

CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson said Merchan had not yet lifted the silence order as of Friday, the day after Trump’s conviction. Separately, Reuters reported that he would “likely lift” the order.

Merchant Gag Order It originally only prohibited Trump from speaking about witnesses and court personnel, but it was expanded on April 1 to prohibit Trump from speaking about Bragg’s family and Merchan’s family after Trump invoked Judge Merchan’s daughter repeatedly on social media. Merchan said the order was necessary because some of Trump’s speeches could prevent jurors, attorneys and court employees from carrying out their duties in court.

Trump is allowed to criticize Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Merchan. The former president can also speak out about the details of the case he is criticizing or claim the entire trial is political if he wants.

So far, Trump has violated his gag order 10 timesand was fined a total of $10,000.

Statement 3: “We have just had one of many experiences where we have had a conflicted, very conflicted judge. There has never been a more conflicted judge. »

Trump attacked the impartiality of Judge Merchan, who oversaw the case, calling him “conflicted” at least seven times on Friday. Previously, he also claimed that Merchan’s daughter worked with senior Democrats.

What we know:

This is an exaggeration on Trump’s part.

Judge Merchan, who was randomly assigned to this case, do $35 in political contributions to Democrats through ActBlue in 2020, including $15 to Mr. Biden’s campaign. Loren Merchan, the judge’s daughter, worked with some top Democrats as part of her role at a marketing company called Authentic campaigns.

In 2023, Merchan asked the New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics to decide whether this amounted to a conflict. The panel issued a warning to Merchan because political contributions of any kind are prohibited by state judicial ethics rules. But they ruled that Merchan’s ability to do his job was not affected.

Mercan therefore rejected Trump’s request to recuse himself — a decision that a separate panel of judges in the New York Appellate Division recently upheld.

Statement 4: “When Bragg showed up, he said ‘this is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen…’ When I announced I was running for president a long time later, they decided to relaunch this matter.”

Trump has repeatedly attacked Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who brought the hush money case to court. During his speech Friday, Trump said Bragg did not intend to pursue charges against him until after he announced his election.

What we know:

This statement is false.

Alvin Bragg took office in January 2022 and inherited the case from a former prosecutor, Cyrus Vance Jr. The New York Times reported that Bragg was confident that in the summer of 2022 he would move forward with an indictment and that he could convince a court. that the criminal charges for falsifying business records in this case were justified. It’s only fall 2022 that Trump announced he was running again.

Bragg was repeatedly targeted by Trump before and during the trial. CBS News found that Trump made or amplified this claim that billionaire investor George Soros donated to Alvin Bragg at least 54 times on Truth Social, including the day the verdict came in when Trump called Bragg a “supported by Soros” in a message.

While it is true that Soros donated $1 million in May 2021 to a progressive racial justice group called Color of Change, and that the group’s political arm later supported Bragg, a Soros spokesperson told the New York Times that the two men had never met. — nor had Soros donated money directly to Bragg’s campaign.

Alan He and Paulina Smolinksi contributed reporting.