The most anticipated indictment in modern history has been released. And, believe it or not, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg found an alleged crime.
Only it is not the alleged crime that he is prosecuting.
The only possible criminal offense identified after months of investigation by experienced professional prosecutors appears to be extortion.
But I’m talking about extortion from Trump, not from Trump. That’s what it’s called when someone threatens to release harmful information about someone else unless they’re paid to keep their mouths shut.
Now, of course, I’m not calling for Stormy Daniels to be prosecuted. I wish her only the best. But this indictment shows how laughable and blatantly political this prosecution really is. It’s a tragedy.
Bragg worked mightily – eventually he produced a mouse.
Read the indictment documents yourself. At first glance, the layperson might assume that it contains some evidence of wrongdoing. 34 counts spread over 13 pages of an accompanying statement and worded in intimidating legalese.
As expected, the central story focuses on the payment of hush money to a former porn star in exchange for a non-disclosure agreement. But the document also expands the alleged Trump plan to include payments to quell the story of a former Trump Tower doorman who spread an unconfirmed and likely false story about a child Trump fathered out of wedlock, and another payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal to hide the story of her alleged extramarital affair with Trump.
Look better now. All 34 counts are relatively similar. Bragg sliced the salami really thin. Essentially, this is about bookkeeping.
The only possible criminal offense identified after months of investigation by experienced professional prosecutors appears to be extortion. But I’m talking about extortion from Trump, not from Trump.
Bragg worked mightily – eventually he produced a mouse.
Trump has been accused of failing to accurately record hush money payments on public financial records.
Think how ridiculous that is. As I wrote before, while immoral, such payments are legal and, in fact, common among high-profile people. It is also not uncommon to withhold why the actual hush money is being paid. Obviously this would be to reveal what the hush money was paid for to keep quiet.
And to turn these dubious financial crimes into even more dubious crimes, Bragg has claimed that the reason Trump made the false entry was to cover up other crimes.
Here is the charge at its weakest.
Tellingly, the document itself doesn’t even specify what crimes Trump was trying to cover up. While not required by law, such specifications are often cited in indictments.
Bragg’s theory is that Trump hid the true purpose of these payments, which Bragg claims were made to protect Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, rather than hide or protect its brand.
But there is no clear evidence to support Bragg’s claim, apart from the questionable evidence provided by Michael Cohen.
Furthermore, for Bragg’s theory to hold water, Trump would have had to have known he was committing a crime to benefit his campaign when he allegedly made the false entry.
But how could he have known it would benefit him?
In the end, the revelation of his consensual adulterous affair with Daniels came out anyway – but it didn’t change the election for Hillary Clinton. I wish it were.
I am a supporter of Hillary Clinton. I voted for her and I contributed to her campaign.
But Trump won.
Bragg, for his part, tried to play the hero at his post-indictment press conference.
He looked the American people in the eye and claimed he was acting in good faith to fulfill the mission of his Manhattan office overseeing the world’s business capital.
“We regularly bring cases regarding false business statements,” he claimed.
That is totally insincere.
I challenge you, District Attorney Bragg. Find me an example of someone being prosecuted for paying hush money and not documenting it in business records.
The case does not exist.
Why? Because responsible prosecutors generally don’t prosecute crimes where there are no victims.
Bragg’s theory is that Trump hid the true purpose of these payments, which Bragg claims were made to protect Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, rather than hide or protect its brand.
Now, of course, I’m not calling for Stormy Daniels to be prosecuted. I wish her only the best. But this indictment shows how laughable and blatantly political this prosecution really is. It’s a tragedy.
Stormy Daniels is not a victim. She willingly accepted Trump’s money.
The American people are not victims. They elected Trump regardless of his behavior.
Ironically, Bragg – who has failed to go after criminal predators on the streets – has spent time and resources that could have been spent chasing real killers and rapists and Ponzi schemes to go after a man instead to go for a victimless, alleged crime.
Obviously, Bragg doesn’t matter. He finally has the case that he told Manhattan voters he was going to deliver to them.
During the 2021 race to elect Manhattan’s next district attorney, a New York Times headline blared, “Two Leading Manhattan DA Candidates Face the Trump Issue.” As the article noted, Bragg wore his animosity toward Trump on his sleeve.
“I have investigated and held Trump and his children accountable for their misconduct at the Trump Foundation,” Mr. Bragg said at a candidate forum in December 2020. “I know how to follow the facts and hold those in power accountable.”
In November 2021, Bragg was elected.
Now those same voters will form the pool from which Trump’s jury will be selected.
And by voting to convict Trump, these prospective jurors would help Bragg fulfill the promise he made to them.
This does not seem to guarantee a fair trial.
The anti-Trump passions in New York City are incredible. I have experienced them myself.
My acquaintance of many years, Caroline Kennedy, told me at a dinner party, “Alan, if I had known that you, who defended Trump on the Senate floor, would be at this dinner party, I wouldn’t have come. But I’m too polite to get up and go now.”
A friend, comedian Larry David, confronted me outside a store yelling, “Alan, you’re disgusting,” about my defense of Trump.
Despite our friendship, they were furious with me because I just didn’t agree with them. You can’t reason with people who have Trump Derangement Syndrome.
My acquaintance of many years, Caroline Kennedy, told me at a dinner party, “Alan, if I had known that you, who defended Trump on the Senate floor, would be at this dinner party, I wouldn’t have come. But I’m too polite to get up and go now.”
The anti-Trump passions in New York City are incredible. I have experienced them myself.
Therefore, Trump’s lawyers will no doubt appeal to the judge for a change of location, which Bragg will vigorously oppose. The last thing he wants is a fair trial. He wants a lawsuit that will allow him to fulfill his campaign promise.
This case must be moved to one of the New York City boroughs, such as Staten Island, or to another part of New York State. But the judge, also an elected Democrat, is unlikely to grant that request.
The US justice system suffered a blow yesterday.
Trump’s appearance in a courtroom to become the first former president and first current presidential candidate ever to be indicted, arrested and charged marked a sad departure from precedent. And this deeply flawed indictment will now set a new precedent under which elected prosecutors from both parties will look for possible crimes against their political opponents.
Whatever the outcome of this Bragg prosecution, Trump should ultimately prevail. An appeals court should never uphold such an obvious misapplication of the law.
But I don’t know if the American justice system will get rid of this so easily. This is a perversion of justice. And if Trump is convicted, it will be a mockery of justice.
Americans everywhere have cause for concern right now because today it’s Trump – but tomorrow it could be you.