Donald Trump spoke out in a rambling speech Tuesday outside of the Manhattan courtroom that CNN found so objectionable it cut the rant midway through.
"As they say, there is no crime," Trump said, repeating soundbites he brought up multiple times. "It should be dismissed before you have a verdict. But they have a judge that's, let's say, complicated."
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He then corrected himself, "Let's also say conflicted."
Trump is facing 34 charges including business fraud involving hush money payments allegedly made to hide a sexual relationship with an adult movie star. He has pleaded not guilty.
In the past, Trump accused the judge of being "conflicted" because his adult daughter works with Democratic candidates.
"He's complicated and conflicted," Trump repeated outside the courtroom.
"And it's a very strange situation. Nobody's ever seen anything quite like it," he continued.
"But we have a situation where we have no crime. And this next couple of hours is very important because the judge can try and manufacture one where he goes from a misdemeanor, which doesn't exist because of the statute of limitations. It doesn't exist. Absolutely," he said, describing a meeting Tuesday afternoon in which jury directions were expected to be discussed.
"And they try to bring it into a felony," Trump continued, "but they can't do it because they have no proof that, — and you've seen what's happened — remember, I'm gagged. I'm not allowed to say what I'd really like to say. You'd be very impressed. But I'm gagged. So, why would I take the chance? But we do want to defend our Constitution, so at some point, maybe I will take the chance."
Trump decided not to testify in his case on Tuesday as the defense rested. He had said earlier that he would.
"It's a very serious situation when a Republican nominee for president — the Republican nominee — someone that won easily and quickly in record time gets No. 1 gagged and No. 2 is a Democrat-appointed judge. And you're playing with fire with this. It's very sad. But the good news is they've not proven a case," said Trump.
He then picked up his legal pad and began attacking President Biden, which was when CNN cut from the speech.
"He's saying, we know they're going to hash out jury instructions. He says they're going to create a crime there. They're going to make something up. That's not what's going on," explained host Jessica Dean.
Legal analyst Elie Honig agreed, saying that at times, Trump was difficult to make out, but it was clear enough for him to assess Trump was "not accurate."
He also pointed out the many, many times Trump repeated the phrase "no crime."
See the responses in the video below or at the link here.
'That's not what's going on': CNN cuts from Trump court speech fo fact-check youtu.be
