Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has been accused of gross political bias and the blatant weaponization of his office to prosecute former President Donald Trump.
Bragg is reportedly moving to indict Trump on felony charges regarding falsified business records and paying “hush money” to conceal a sexual encounter in 2006.
Several legal experts have questioned Bragg’s aggressive actions in the case, as the statute of limitations appears to prohibit prosecution of the matter and the alleged crime is a misdemeanor in New York, yet Bragg is seeking to charge Trump with a felony.
Criticism from conservatives has been swift and sure. Trump alleged Bragg was a player in “the greatest witch hunt of all time.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Bragg is a “Soros-funded prosecutor” who is “pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing [his] office.”
Sen. Rand Paul said that Bragg should be “put in jail.”
On Tuesday, Bragg pushed back. A spokesperson from his office said: “We will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process, nor will we let baseless accusations deter us from fairly applying the law.”
The spokesperson continued: “In every prosecution, we follow the law without fear or favor to uncover the truth. Our skilled, honest, and dedicated lawyers remain hard at work.”
Bragg seeks to elevate misdemeanor charges against Trump, which pertain to his allegedly paying “hush money” through a third party to an adult film participant known as Stormy Daniels shortly before the 2016 election. Daniels alleged an intimate relationship with Trump in 2006.
Trump reportedly paid Daniels $130,000 through a now-disgraced attorney Michael Cohen.
In 2019, federal prosecutors in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York elected not to charge Trump in this case. The Federal Election Commission also declined to prosecute Trump in 2021 when they investigated the matter.
Former Vice President Mike Pence said of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg: This “feels like a politically charged probe.”
Trump said over the weekend that “he expected to be arrested Tuesday.” However, grand jury testimony will continue through Tuesday afternoon. A source close to the matter reports an indictment will likely come next week.
Concerned citizens report seeing law enforcement officers set up barricades in New York City and Washington, D.C., apparently to quell anticipated unrest in the wake of an indictment.
In a blow to the district attorney’s office on Monday, the grand jury heard Robert Costello testify that one of Bragg’s key witnesses, Michael Cohen, was on a “revenge tour” and a “serial liar.”
Rep. Jim Jordan has also rebuked Bragg and warned that indicting Trump would erode Americans’ waning confidence in the judicial system.
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