Trump insists there is still no case despite explosive charges on one of his darkest days

Former President Donald Trump prepared to return to his gilded comfort zone of Mar-a-Lago’s grand ballroom, where he planned to address a series of TV cameras and media members after being charged and arrested on Tuesday in Manhattan.

Trump flew back to his home in West Palm Beach, Florida, shortly after becoming the first former president to be charged with a crime, leaving the immediate posts after the arraignment to his team of lawyers.

Tonight, in the same ballroom where he announced his presidential campaign and where he has attended Saturday night weddings, Trump prepared to strike another blow at the case brought against him by New York prosecutors.

There were indications that Trump would somehow want to address the New York media, but instead he prepared to face the new legal charges against him in the house he called the “Winter White House.” .

His prime-time speech comes after District Attorney Alvin Bragg unsealed the 34-count charges against him, accusing Trump of a series of false business statements he described as part of an overarching plan to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

Bragg’s grand jury indictment referred not only to the Stormy Daniels case, but also to an alleged “catch and kill” scheme involving former Playboy model Karen McDougal and another payoff involving a former doorman.

The charges, categorized as Class E felonies, could lead to a total of 136 years in prison if Trump is convicted of all of these counts.

He pleaded not guilty in Manhattan criminal court, where his image was captured by silent photographers and a court draftsman.

In the ballroom, die-hard Trump supporters gathered under coffered ceilings and crystal chandeliers, playing the usual Trump playlist choruses of Elton John and “Macho Man.”

Among the early arrivals was Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow, who advised Trump during his final weeks in the White House as the president fought to overturn the election results — another area in which Trump has legal exposure.

Trump supporters filled the ballroom at Mar-a-Lago as they awaited word from the former president

Trump will address his MAGA faithful and the media now that he has been indicted

He was not impressed with what was in the unsealed indictment.

‘They didn’t do anything then. In fact, I think he got money from Stormy Daniels. It is disgusting to bring up a crime and try to make it into a crime,” he said of the prosecution’s decision to link false allegations from business documents to an underlying alleged crime only alluded to in the indictment .

He said he had his own lawyer look into it and that “it’s a joke.” A crime covering a crime or a crazy law. It’s just a range. It’s arming, arming our government and it’s the political motivation, frankly. It’s all for politics. That’s what they’ve done to our country: FBI, CIA everything.

Lindell did admit that the huge legal challenges Trump faces carry a weight.

“What do you think I’m doing?” said Lindell, who is facing a massive Dominion lawsuit over his claims of voter fraud being thrown out of court. “I have to do media. I have all these corrupt companies. You just have to put them down – It’s a distraction.’

‘He has one thing. He wants to save our country,” he said of Trump. “This is part of the battle. He gets hit. His focus – he loves this country. He loves people, and he will keep going and he won’t let this stop him. Is it a distraction? Yes. But that’s all he’s going to get. It’s a distraction. He’s going to use it positively, just as his grades are up ten points today. It will be a big plus.’

“If you go back 20 years, you can pick anything and make something up and it would hurt someone. I know this—as do I,” said Lindell, writing about his struggle with addiction. I told everything so you couldn’t attack me. I’ve written a book about it. I was a crack addict. So you couldn’t attack me.

Mike Lindell, CEO of My Pillow, is on hand to cheer on Trump

Also there was Hogan Gidley, a former Trump White House spokesman who plays no formal role in Trump’s camp.

“Pinnings are firmer in Trump’s camp than anywhere else as far as the country is concerned,” said Gidley, who joked days ago that Trump could milk a mugshot if the NYPD took one and released it.

“The American people don’t like the armed government, they don’t like the politicization of the justice system,” he said.

“I imagine you’re going to hear some information about how important it is to stand up and protect people in this country,” said Gidley, who was at Mar-a-Lago but has no formal role with the camp from Trump.

A federal panel of the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that key aides, including former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, must testify in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s separate grand jury investigation into the botched election.

Meadows was a key adviser who maintained close contact with Trump and a web of Trump allies during his final days in the White House — even traveling to Georgia during the election campaign there.