Just minutes after lowering expectations for acquittal, former President Donald Trump offered a unique defense in his hush money trial: claiming ignorance of the charges.
After leaving the courtroom for a break on Wednesday morning, Trump addressed reporters he had previously ignored and lamented, “Mother Teresa could not beat these charges,” framing it as another complaint about a “rigged trial” rather than an admission of guilt.
Shortly afterward, Trump posted on Truth Social, claiming complete ignorance of the charges:
“I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT THE CHARGES ARE IN THIS RIGGED CASE—I AM ENTITLED TO SPECIFICITY JUST LIKE ANYONE ELSE. THERE IS NO CRIME!”
This statement is definitely interesting given that Trump was ordered by the court to attend the roughly five-week trial, during which he has been indicted on 34 felony counts of falsifying records in hush money payments to Stormy Daniels. The prosecution has presented these charges as violations of federal election regulations.
Trump’s defense approach, claiming ignorance of the charges, echoes a common refrain from various hosts and pundits on Fox News, who often assert that they “don’t know what the crime even is.”
The legal principle “ignorantia juris non excusat,” meaning “ignorance of the law excuses no one,” states that a person who is unaware of a law cannot escape liability for violating it merely by being unaware of its content.
