I still maintain that Bragg did this not to put Trump in jail, but, to jam Trump up, making him waste time and money rather than campaigning, and hoping that voters will vote against Trump. Why else trot an extremely unique set of charges that make little sense and are missing quite a lot of pertinent information?
The Gaping Hole in the Middle of the Trump Indictment
The 34-count indictment of former President Donald Trump is 16 pages long, and was accompanied by a 12-page statement of facts. But nowhere in those 28 pages did Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg provide the most important information about this high-profile legal case: his legal basis for bringing felony charges against the former president.
Every count in the indictment charges Trump with violating a New York felony statute against falsifying business records as part of “a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election” by suppressing a potentially damaging story that Trump had had an affair with a porn star. Bragg could have charged Trump with 34 misdemeanor counts, but under New York law they become felonies if the falsification was done “with the intent to commit another crime.”
This is where Bragg’s indictment has done a disservice to the public and to Trump himself. Beyond a general reference to a violation of “election laws” and a passing reference to taxes, the indictment and statement of facts do not specify what “other crimes” Trump allegedly intended to commit.
Again, that would be the entire basis for raising what are essentially the equivalent of jaywalking charges, for which the statute of limitations ran out on all of them, to a felony.
I’m not alone in wondering what the exact “other crimes” are. Since the indictment was released to the public, I’ve spent hours discussing the indictment with other lawyers, including multiple former Manhattan assistant district attorneys. None of us could determine with certainty what crimes Bragg is using to bump up the misdemeanor counts to felonies.
That is a serious problem. Like every other defendant, Trump has a right to be informed of the nature of the charges against him. His legal team can’t prepare a defense if they don’t know what Bragg’s legal theory is.
I expect Trump’s team soon will file a motion for a bill of particulars, the formal method by which defendants can demand prosecutors provide more specifics about the charges. Most of these motions are a waste of time, but in this case, the motion should be granted.
If Bragg cannot provide that, well, then it should all be dismissed. Will the system act like it should? It’s already gone off the rails with a prosecutor who’s sole purpose seems to be going after a U.S. citizen for the express reason of Trump Derangement Syndrome and that he beat Hillary Clinton.
For now, Bragg seems to be leaving his options open, giving himself an opportunity to adjust his case in the upcoming weeks. That’s not how our system is supposed to work. While vagueness might give Bragg an advantage at this stage, prosecutors are supposed to promote justice, not try to gain an edge unfairly.
No, that is not. But, we’ve already seen the J6 folks railroaded, while most of the Antifa/BLM folks let go. And the list of justice being politicized.
This is from POLITICO? Did someone hack their system? (The alternative is that a liberal grew a brain, which is vanishingly rare…)
I wonder if the great prosecutor is aware he gets his family name from a Confederate general, and not a very good one.
Yes Bragg owned over 100 slaves so it is possible that the DA is in possiblly in some way related to Braxton Bragg
Funny-his name came from or is the same as a Confederate general? Then he should do the liberal thing and cancel himself.
Any statues of Bragg anywhere? Better tear them down!