Former US President Trump calls his indictment ridiculous and baseless

WASHINGTON: Former US President Donald Trump has described his federal indictment as "ridiculous" and "baseless".

He made the remarks at a Republican Party convention in Georgia during his first public appearance since the charges were unsealed, accusing him of 37 counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of sensitive documents related to national defense information at his Mar-a-Lago property, CNN reported.

Trump on Saturday cast his federal indictment as "election interference," telling Georgia Republicans it represented an abuse of power by the Biden administration, it reported.

"This is a political hit job. Republicans are treated far different at the Justice Department than Democrats," said Trump who offered no evidence for his claims at a state GOP convention in Columbus. Former US President Donald Trump faces a total of 37 counts, including 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information.

While addressing the people in Georgia, he said that any other Republican at the top of the party's 2024 ticket will face similar scrutiny and legal challenges, as per the CNN report. "The ridiculous and baseless indictment of me by the Biden administration's weaponized department of injustice will go down as among the most horrific abuses of power in the history of our country," CNN quoted the former president as saying.

Trump's remarks were reminiscent of his first rally after last summer's FBI search of his Mar-A-Lago estate. Speaking to supporters in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, in September, Trump accused Biden of weaponizing federal law enforcement in what he said was "one of the most shocking abuses of power by any administration in American history," as per the news report.