Donald Trump, who is the defendant in two criminal trials for allegedly interfering in the 2020 election, has issued a warning about Democrats cheating in November.
In a Truth Social post on Saturday, the Republican presidential candidate wrote that the upcoming election would be heavily scrutinized to avoid cheating.
“CEASE & DESIST: I, together with many Attorneys and Legal Scholars, am watching the Sanctity of the 2024 Presidential Election very closely because I know, better than most, the rampant Cheating and Skullduggery that has taken place by the Democrats in the 2020 Presidential Election,” he wrote.
Since losing the election to President Joe Biden in 2020, Trump has repeatedly asserted that the widespread fraud influenced the outcome. He and his allies brought 62 lawsuits challenging the results, 61 of which were thrown out. One succeeded at first and was then overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
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“It was a Disgrace to our Nation! Therefore, the 2024 Election, where Votes have just started being cast, will be under the closest professional scrutiny and, WHEN I WIN, those people that CHEATED will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the Law, which will include long term prison sentences so that this Depravity of Justice does not happen again,” Trump wrote.
“We cannot let our Country further devolve into a Third World Nation, AND WE WON’T! Please beware that this legal exposure extends to Lawyers, Political Operatives, Donors, Illegal Voters, & Corrupt Election Officials. Those involved in unscrupulous behavior will be sought out, caught, and prosecuted at levels, unfortunately, never seen before in our Country.”
While Trump has accused the Democratic Party and Biden of cheating, he himself is the defendant in two criminal trials relating to alleged election interference, one federal, and one in Georgia. In both cases he denies any wrongdoing and says he is subject to a political witch hunt.
The federal case relates to an allegation that Trump was involved in a plot to send fake electors to the Capitol to falsely declare him the winner of various states. He is accused of pressuring then Vice President Mike Pence to count the fake electors during the certification process, rather than the electors certified by each state.
The Georgia case relates to a January 2, 2021, phone call Trump made to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger where he allegedly pressured him to “find 11,780 votes” to overturn the election in the state. The prosecution argues that Trump and 18 others were part of a criminal racketeering enterprise to unlawfully change the outcome of the election.
Newsweek has contacted Trump’s campaign via email for comment.