Filmmaker Dinesh D'Souza said he is innocent of campaign finance fraud charges — and criticized President Barack Obama's leadership, during a dramatic appearance at Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday.
"I've pleaded not guilty. And yes, I'm innocent," D'Souza told
Business Insider in an interview at CPAC where he made a keynote address.
Addressing an audience of 3,500, D'Souza tore into President Barack Obama.
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He said the Democratic commander-in-chief was turning into the type of leader D'Souza warned of in his award-winning 2012 documentary, "2016: Obama's America."
"Obama is an actor playing out our script. He's like a toy soldier who walks into the wall and keeps on going," D'Souza said.
In a federal indictment, D'Souza is charged with violating campaign finance laws by allegedly using a straw donation scheme to funnel illegal donations to an unnamed U.S. Senate candidate's campaign.
His trial is set to begin May 19 in New York and he faces up to seven years behind bars if convicted.
Supporters of D'Souza say he is being persecuted by the Obama administration because of his critical documentary.
Meanwhile, D'Souza unveiled a new trailer for his upcoming movie, "America," which is based on the premise that the United States lost the Revolutionary War.
The trailer, which was obtained by
The Hollywood Reporter, starts with images of such American icons as Ronald Reagan, Steve Jobs, John F. Kennedy and Jackie Robinson. It then switches to a war scene in which Gen. George Washington is fatally shot with a British musket. The Statue of Liberty and Mount Rushmore are then seeing disintegrating, the Reporter says.
"Even though we made a mainstream movie that is for all Americans, we know that it will especially resonate with our conservative friends," D'Souza told The Hollywood Reporter.
"We are proud to debut our trailer at what is effectively their Super Bowl."
"America" opens on July 4 and is produced by Gerald Molen, who won an Oscar for the Steven Spielberg blockbuster, "Schindler's List."
Molen told the Reporter that "America" is a "love story about America — what she has meant to us, what she's done for us and what she expects of us."
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