Trump indictment updates: Trump speaks out on charges from Mar-a-Lago
Donald Trump is the first former U.S. president to be indicted.
Former President Donald Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, after being indicted by a Manhattan grand jury last week.
He is the first former U.S. president to be indicted.
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Latest headlines:
Trump: 'Very dark cloud over our beloved country'
In his closing remarks, former President Donald Trump said there is a "very dark cloud over our beloved country."
He addressed the crowd for about 25 minutes.
Trump begins speech from Mar-a-Lago
Former President Donald Trump has started his address at his Mar-a-Lago estate, hours after he was arraigned on criminal charges.
"God bless you all. I never thought anything like this could happen in America," were Trump's first words.
Trump claimed the "fake case" was brought "only to interfere with the upcoming 2024 election" and said it should be "dropped immediately."
Some Trump family members at Mar-a-Lago for speech
Some members of Donald Trump's family just entered the Mar-a-Lago ballroom for the former president's remarks.
Trump's son Donald Trump Jr., with Kimberly Guilfoyle, and his daughter Tiffany Trump entered the room to loud applause from the crowd.
-ABC News' Will Steakin
Trump still revising speech less than an hour before scheduled remarks
Former President Donald Trump was still revising his speech less than an hour before his scheduled remarks at 8:15 p.m. ET, sources said.
Sources said he spent the entire flight to Florida working on his speech. While his remarks are expected to be in a teleprompter, aides are preparing for him to go off script.
Sources described Trump's mood as "determined, resolute and up for the challenge," though that he was also "angry" leaving court this afternoon.
-ABC News' Katherine Faulders, John Santucci and Rachel Scott
Bragg: 'We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct'
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg claimed former President Donald Trump "repeatedly made false statements" on New York business records and made others do the same during a press briefing following Tuesday's arraignment.
"These are felony crimes in New York state, no matter who you are," Bragg said. "We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct.
Bragg said the case, "like so many of our white-collar cases," alleges that "someone lied again and again to protect their interests and evade the laws to which we are all held accountable."
Bragg claimed Trump and his associates attempted to withhold negative information about him in a “catch-and-kill scheme” meant to bolster his candidacy for president.
"The evidence will show that Trump lied … to cover up crimes related to the 2016 presidential election," Bragg said.
The payments to Michael Cohen were meant to "hide damaging information from the voting public," he added.
When asked why his office was pursuing the case now, Bragg said there is more evidence in hand than his predecessor had.
