Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

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Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

Postby admin » Sun Apr 02, 2023 2:16 am

The gloves are off! Trump goes after soft-on-crime Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg AND his wife after grand jury indictment - as protesters turn out at Trump Tower while his fans swarm Mar-a-Lago
By JEN SMITH, CHIEF REPORTER and ROB CRILLY, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER and EMILY GOODIN, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 08:23 EDT, 31 March 2023 | UPDATED: 21:51 EDT, 31 March 2023

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


** Donald Trump, 76, was indicted on fraud charges last night by a Manhattan grand jury
** He will travel to New York to be arrested and then arraigned on Tuesday afternoon
** Trump maintains his innocence, and says the entire case is a political witch hunt by Democrats

Former President Donald Trump has launched a social media assault on Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, the Democratic prosecutor going after him for alleged fraud, and even took aim at his wife in the most recent round of complaints since he was indicted last night.

Trump, 76, will be arraigned in Manhattan at 2.15pm on Tuesday on an array of business fraud charges relating to 2016 hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. He has denied any personal wrongdoing, and says he is the victim of a politically-motivated witch hunt led by the famously Democratic Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The charges are not yet known - only once he is formally charged in person will the indictment become unsealed.

While he waits for that to happen, Trump is not holding back in his criticism of Bragg.

Today, he reposted several news videos and campaign trailers by Bragg's opponents, which described him as one of the worst DAs in the country and shamed him for not prosecuting many violent crimes.

Bragg is among a handful of Democratic prosecutors around the country who has received funding from mega-donor George Soros.

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Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump - 47m
Paul Sperry
@paulsperry_
BREAKING: In march 2022 -- BEFORE a Manhattan grand jury began hearing evidence -- DA Alvin Bragg's wife Jamila retweeted a report that claimed that her husband "has Trump nailed on felonies." Jamila Bragg has since locked her Twitter account.

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Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump - 42m
Paul Sperry
@paulsperry_
BREAKING: Anti-Trump D.A. Alvin Bragg's wife Jamila Ponton @jpontonbragg has locked her Twitter page, changing her account status from open to "protected." For several years, @jpontonbragg has railed against Trump & retweeted posts calling him racist and advocating for his arrest

Former President Donald Trump today reposted these tweets which claim DA Bragg's wife has a personal hatred of him, and was longing for an indictment

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Bragg with his wife, Jamila Ponton Bragg, left.

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Trump is shown, right, on March 25. He has not been seen today, but entertained was at Mar-a-Lago last night


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Trump also shared videos which criticize Bragg's prosecutorial record. He is notoriously soft on crime

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Not only does Trump think that Bragg is motivated by political hatred - he also brought his wife into the discourse today, posting tweets by a RealClearPolitics journalist who said she'd previously shared her own disdain for the president online.

'In March 2022 - BEFORE Manhattan grand jury began hearing evidence -- DA Alvin Bragg's wife Jamila retweetd a report that claimed that her husband "has Trump nailed on felonies".

Jamila Bragg has since locked her Twitter account,' one of the tweets by reporter and columnist Paul Sperry said.

In another, he said: 'Anti-Trump DA Alvin Bragg's wife Jamila Ponton has locked her Twitter page, changing her account status from open to "protected". For several years, @jpontonbragg has railed against Trump & retweeted posts calling him racist and advocating for his arrest.'

Ponton-Bragg has now made her Twitter account private. Perry did not provide any screenshots of the tweets he said she'd posted.

She and Bragg have been married for 20 years and share two children.

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Protesters have been gathering for weeks but were out in force today outside Trump Tower following the bombshell grand jury indictment

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Outside Trump Tower, protesters calling for Trump's arrest gathered throughout the day

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Anti-Trump protesters demonstrate outside Trump Tower after former U.S. President Donald Trump's indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels

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A person poses with a newspaper with a picture of former U.S. President Donald Trump on the cover outside Trump Tower, after his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels

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An anti-Trump protester holds a placard and a small U.S. flag outside Trump Tower after former U.S. President Donald Trump's indictment by a Manhattan grand jury

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Protestors gather in front of Trump Tower in New York City on March 31, 2023

Yesterday, Judge Juan Merchan was spotted arriving at the Manhattan criminal courthouse in casual clothes last night flanked by two security officers, leading many to believe that he has been chosen for the case.

Merchan previously presided over the Trump Organization fraud trial, where the family business was fined $1.2million on a range of charges.

On Friday morning, Trump took to Truth Social to complain that Merchan 'hates' him and had been 'handpicked' by Bragg and his cronies. His daughter Ivanka said the indictment has left her feeling 'pained' for both him and her country.

Meanwhile, anti-Trump protesters gathered in force outside Trump Tower in Manhattan to celebrate the indictment. They held up protest signs that read 'lock him up', a play on his supporters' old chants about Hillary Clinton.

Trump, writing on Truth Social, fumed about the judge.

'The Judge “assigned” to my Witch Hunt Case, a “Case” that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME.

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ivankatrump 17m
I love my father, and I love my country. Today, I am pained for both. I appreciate the voices across the political spectrum expressing support and concern.

His daughter Ivanka said the indictment has left her feeling 'pained' for both him and her country

'His name is Juan Manuel Marchan (sic) was hand picked by Bragg & the Prosecutors.' which didn't “plead,” VICIOUSLY. APPEALING!

He also complained about how Merchan 'railroaded' Allan Weisselberg, the former Trump Org. CFO, into taking a plea deal. Trump claims he forced Weisselberg to admit guilt, and that he treated anyone who didn't 'viciously'.

The Trump Organization was found guilty of a series of tax crimes last year. As part of that case, Judge Merchan fined the organization $1.2million, but neither Trump nor any of his children, were personally charged or held liable.

The indictment against him signals the first time a US president has ever been criminally charged. Trump and his attorneys say it's a political witch hunt designed to hurt his chances in the 2024 election.

Among his few remaining supporters in Washington is Marjorie Taylor Greene. She has vowed to come to New York next week to protest the indictment and offer Trump her support.

Both President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris refused to comment on the indictment.

Vice President Kamala Harris, on a high profile trip to Africa that has been overshadowed by the Trump news, also refused to comment on the former president.

‘I am not going to comment on an ongoing criminal case as it relates to the former president,’ she told reporters at a press conference in Zambia.

President Biden repeatedly refused to answer questions outside The White House this morning.

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Trump fans at Mar-a-Lago today. The former president is expected to travel to New York early next week for his arraignment

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Supporters of former US president Donald Trump gather near Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 31 March 2023

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A supporter in a 'women for Trump' hat waves a flag that reads: 'Keep America Great Again'. Trump's fans say he is the target of a political witch hunt

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Supporters of former US president Donald Trump gather near Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 31 March 2023

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Supporters of former US president Donald Trump gather near Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, USA, 31 March 2023

Earlier on Friday, his attorney Joe Tacopina made a series of early morning TV appearances to fight his corner.

He insisted Trump would not be put in handcuffs when he is arraigned on Tuesday, and that the Secret Service will prevent a 'circus' outside the courthouse.

'The president will not be put in handcuffs, as far as a mugshot, perp walk, I am sure they will try to make sure they get some joy out of it by parading him.

'But this is a different situation,' he said during an appearance on Good Morning America.

'You have Secret Service involved... a lot of different groups involved. I don't think they're going to allow this to become a circus.'

He added that even though he is yet to see the indictment or know what the specific charges are, he does not believe they are warranted.

Despite predicting his own arrest, Tacopina said he was still shocked that the grand jury decided to indict him.

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Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump 26m
The Judge "assigned" to my Witch Hunt Case, a "Case" that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME. His name is Juan Manuel Marchan, was hand picked by Bragg & the Prosecutors, & is the same person who "railroaded" my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a "plea" deal (Please GUILTY, even if you are not, 90 DAYS, fight us in Court, 10 years (life!) in jail. He strong armed Allen, which a judge is not allowed to do, & treated my companies, which didn't "plead," VICIOUSLY. APPEALING!
Mar 31, 2023 9:50

Donald Trump fumed that the judge who is expected to preside over his looming case 'hates' him and is the same man who oversaw the Trump Organization fraud trial

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Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is shown arriving at Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday morning

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Yesterday, Judge Juan Merchan was spotted arriving at the Manhattan criminal courthouse in casual clothes

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A court sketch shows Judge Merchan (right) reading the counts aloud to Trump Organization lawyers (left) in December. Trump wasn't personally charged and neither were his children, but a jury found the business guilty of tax crimes. Judge Merchan ordered them to pay a $1.2million fine

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NYPD Officers stand guard outside the offices of the Manhattan District Attorney on March 31, 2023 in New York City

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Security personal for DA Alvin Bragg closed the door as he arrives at the offices of the Manhattan District Attorney on March 31

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NYPD Officers stand guard outside the offices of the Manhattan District Attorney on March 31, 2023 in New York City

'Despite all the rumors, we believed and hoped that the rule of law would prevail. He was initially shocked.

'After he got over that, he put a notch on his belt and he, you know, decided we have to fight now.

'Now, he is in a typical Donald Trump posture - he is ready to be combative on something he feels is an injustice.'

Tacopina said Trump will plead not guilty, and that he will 'immediately' begin 'aggressively' fighting the case.

'His knees don't buckle. He is ready to fight this,' he said.

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Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen - who was previously convicted of campaign finance violations and tax evasion over the same hush money payment - took a victory lap on Good Morning America today

Calling it an 'unprecedented case', he fumed: 'The rule of law died yesterday.'

In a separate interview on Good Morning America, Michael Cohen - Trump's former attorney who was previously convicted of campaign finance violations and tax evasion - took a victory lap.

He said Trump should be more concerned with the 'court of law' than with the 'court of public opinion'.

President Biden declined to comment when approached by reporters outside the White House.

Trump and his wife Melania were captured just hours after a grand jury recommended that he be indicted over a $130,000 hush money payment to former porn star Stormy Daniels.

A photo of the couple was posted to Twitter on Thursday evening by Gina Loudon, a conservative media commentator, who tweeted: 'Beautiful evening here at the gorgeous Mar a Lago! Our REAL First Couple enveloped in the love of their friends and most loyal!'

She then added: '(Sorry to disappoint, corporate media. Actually not. Screw you! This is a happiness you will never know, sadly).'

The ex-president and frontrunner to be Republican nominee in 2024 said he is 'completely innocent' and has dismissed the accusations as politically motivated. He is set to face a mug shot, finger-printing and a court appearance next week following the indictment.

The appearance came as the Trump team was working out how to handle the news - which came as a shock. They had not expected a decision for several weeks, given announcements about the Manhattan grand jury's schedule.

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A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former president Donald Trump over hush money paid to pornstar Stormy Daniels

Trump supporters were dispatched to news channels to argue that the case was political persecution, with Alan Dershowitz, a lawyer who represented Trump in his first impeachment, arguing that a fair trial was impossible in Manhattan. He said the trial should be moved from the Democrat stronghold to Staten Island - the only one of the five boroughs of New York City to vote Republican.

The news also caused consternation in Washington DC, according to a report. The New York Times said that some in the Justice Department were concerned that the charges could overshadow and perhaps complicate their own cases, which are felt to be stronger.

The Justice Department has a special counsel, Jack Smith, investigating efforts to overturn the election, and the handling of Mar-a-Lago classified documents.

It is unclear when those investigations will conclude.

Trump's lawyer has said he will travel to Manhattan to be arraigned on Tuesday, when he could face as many as 30 charges related to business fraud.

The former president huddled with lawyers and advisers at his Mar-a-Lago home on Thursday evening after news broke that a Manhattan jury had voted to indict him over a $130,000 hush money payment to Stormy Daniels.

Responding to the news last night, Daniels tweeted: 'Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...also don't want to spill my champagne.

'#Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment.'

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Stormy Daniels
@StormyDaniels
Thank you to everyone for your support and love! I have so many messages coming in that I can't respond...also don't want to spill my champagne #Teamstormy merch/autograph orders are pouring in, too! Thank you for that as well but allow a few extra days for shipment.


Trump has blasted the indictment and said Democrats would regret persecuting an innocent man when his supporters dumped them out of office.

In the meantime, the Manhattan district attorney's office said it was in touch with Trump's lawyers to arrange his surrender in New York.

A source told DailyMail.com that the head of Trump's security detail recently traveled to Manhattan to review arrangements and that the former president would likely be formally arrested next week.

That could be as soon as Tuesday, Susan Necheles, one of his lawyers, told the New York Times.

Although the indictment is sealed for now, CNN reported that it contained more than 30 criminal charges.

'The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to "Get Trump," but now they've done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant election Interference,' Trump said in an emailed statement.

'Never before in our nation's history has this been done.'

The indictment marks the end of a five-year investigation into cash paid to the adult movie star in 2016, allegedly to buy her silence about their affair.

And it takes the country into uncharted political and legal territory. Although being charged with a crime would not disqualify him from running for office, it does mean a leading 2024 candidate faces the humiliation of arrest.

A spokesperson for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said talks had begun to bring Trump to New York.

'This evening we contacted Mr. Trump's attorney to coordinate his surrender to the Manhattan D.A.'s Office for arraignment on a Supreme Court indictment, which remains under seal,' they said.

Earlier, Trump played nine holes of golf at his Florida club as usual on Thursday morning. But the 76-year-old did not stay for lunch even though his usual table was reserved.

A source close to his Mar-a-Lago home said the Trump team was ready with statements and social media messaging as soon as the indictment dropped.

'We had a plan in place and the plan was executed,' he said. 'Getting surrogates out, getting content out.'

Within minutes his sons Don Jr and Eric were livecasting or tweeting, fundraising appeals followed and an emailed statement arrived from Trump himself in inboxes soon after.

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Trump is expected to travel voluntarily to New York to be arrested. But Florida Governor Ron DeSantis tweeted that he would not help any effort to extradite the former president

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TRUMP
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
2024
March 30, 2023
Statement by Donald J. Trump, 45th President of the United States of America

“This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden escalator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats - the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country - have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this.

“The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.

“Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever.

“Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who was hand-picked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace. Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, he’s doing Joe Biden’s dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time!

“I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party - united and strong - will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump railed against the indictment in an emailed statement. He said this 'Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden' and predicted Democrats will be voted out of office

'I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,' said Trump, before criticizing the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

'The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it.

'So our Movement, and our Party - united and strong - will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!'

Trump is leading most polls of Republican voters for the party nomination.

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Meanwhile it also emerged on Thursday New York prosecutors were looking to charge Trump over a $150,000 payment made to another former Playboy model, Karen McDougal

But the Manhattan case is just one of the legal obstacles he faces, including probes into efforts to overthrow the result of the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Many leading legal scholars believe the hush money case may be the weakest of the lot.

Trump and his allies had even floated the idea that the case was being dropped after a series of delays to grand jury hearings.

As a result, the indictment landed out of the blue on Thursday evening.

It leaves a city braced for protests. All uniformed members of the New York Police Department need to be 'prepared for deployment,' according to memo obtained by the New York Times.

His lawyers, Susan Necheles and Joseph Tacopina, promised to fight the 'political prosecution' in court. 'President Trump has been indicted. He did not commit any crime,' they said.

Although he is the first former president to be criminally charged, he is not the first presidential candidate to be criminally charged. Eugene Debs, convicted of sedition and jailed for his opposition to World War One, ran for president five times.

It marks a victory for the office of the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg.

Bragg's office has been probing a $130,000 hush money payment made by Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer and fixer, to Daniels, 44, during the 2016 presidential campaign.

The Trump camp was quick to blast the indictment on Thursday night, with Eric Trump telling DailyMail.com it was 'the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent'.

Florida Governor and 2024 rival Ron DeSantis offered a partial lifeline on Thursday, saying he would try to thwart the extradition of the former president from his state.

He described the prosecution as 'unAmerican.'

'Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda,' he said in a tweet, referring to the fact that Alvin Bragg's election campaign was backed by billionaire activist George Soros.

Trump's Vice President Mike Pence also blasted Bragg's decision to bring charges against his former boss.

'The unprecedented indictment of a former president on a campaign finance issue is an outrage. I think the American people are going to look at this... as one more example of the criminalization of politics in this country.'

Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel weighed in. She tweeted: 'When our justice system is weaponized as a political tool, it endangers all of us.

'This is a blatant abuse of power from a DA focused on political vengeance instead of keeping people safe.'

Across the political aisle, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who were Trump's bete noires on Capitol Hill during his presidency, both released statements following the news.

Pelosi said: 'The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law. No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence. Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.'

Likewise, Schumer said: 'Mr. Trump is subject to the same laws as every American. He will be able to avail himself of the legal system and a jury, not politics, to determine his fate according to the facts and the law.

'There should be no outside political influence, intimidation or interference in the case. I encourage both Mr. Trump's critics and supporters to let the process proceed peacefully and according to the law.'

President Joe Biden's White House declined to comment on the indictment.

Meanwhile it also emerged on Thursday New York prosecutors were looking to charge Trump over a $150,000 payment made to another former Playboy model.

Bragg's team has questioned grand jury witnesses about cash given to Karen McDougal, who was Playboy magazine 'Playmate of the Year' in 1998.

Eric Trump told DailyMail.com: 'This is the opportunistic targeting of a political opponent in a campaign year.

'They are ruthlessly attacking my father because he dared challenge the political elite. This is Exhibit A to the decline of American Law.'

The former president has always denied having an affair with Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford.

But the case dogged him through his time in office after triggering a federal investigation.

In 2017 Cohen pleaded guilty to eight federal charges, including tax evasion, fraud and campaign finance violations, and he told a court in Manhattan that Trump had directed him to make the payments.

But the investigation disappeared from the headlines as other legal cases focused on Trump's family business and his actions around the Jan. 6, 2021, riot hog the spotlight. But it never went away.

Although the Justice Department decided not to charge Trump and the Federal Election Commission was deadlocked over taking action over claims that the payment amounted to an undeclared campaign contribution, the Manhattan DA was still looking at the case.

And it took on fresh momentum early in 2023 when Cohen met with investigators from the Manhattan district attorney's office and it emerged that a grand jury was hearing evidence.

Such hearings are conducted in secret. But one theory was that it was probing Trump for falsifying business records in connection with the payment, by allegedly misreporting a campaign donation as a legal fees.

That amounts to a misdemeanor. But that rises to a felony if it is done in conjunction with a second crime, such as a campaign finance violation.

Then in March Bragg's office asked Trump to testify, in the clearest sign yet that he could be indicted.

The former president confirmed as much in a social media post at the weekend, calling on supporters to rise up in protest.

'The far and away leading Republican candidate and former president of the United States of America will be arrested on Tuesday of next week,' he posted on his Truth Social platform. 'Protest, take our nation back!'

The final act was reportedly the repeat testimony of Trump lawyer Robert Costello on Monday.

He was asked to appear by the former president's legal team because he may have evidence that contradicted Cohen's account. Privately Trump's allies are confident that the case has little substance.

An insider told DailyMail.com that it strengthens him politically, rallying the base in his support. 'It is very obvious that this is helpful,' he said.

He added that to get the second charge, elevating the case to a felony, prosecutors would have to show that Trump wanted to cover up an affair to help his campaign, even though the business mogul's love life had been frontpage news in New York for decades.

'Of course no one wants to be indicted, but it is helpful politically and legally it's not even that much of a threat because the case is so weak and looks nakedly political,' added the source.

Legal experts have also weighed in on the case's failings.

'Although it may be politically popular, the case is legally pathetic,' said Jonathan Turley, Shapiro Professof of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University in a column for The Hill.

'Bragg is struggling to twist state laws to effectively prosecute a federal case long ago rejected by the Justice Department against Trump over his payment of @hush money@ to former stripper Stormy Daniels.

'In 2018 (yes, that is how long this theory has been around), I wrote how difficult such a federal case would be under existing election laws. Now, six years later, the same theory may be shoehorned into a state claim.'

Meanwhile on Thursday it emerged Manhattan DA Bragg's team has questioned grand jury witnesses about cash given to Karen McDougal, who was Playboy magazine 'Playmate of the Year' in 1998.

McDougal claims she had a ten-month affair with Trump which began in 2006. Trump's office released a statement on Thursday branding the development a 'hoax'.

Evidence about payments to McDougal could either be used to bring new charges or establish a 'pattern of behavior' for the Daniels case, sources told the Wall Street Journal which revealed the development.

A spokesman for Trump said: 'It is sad to see radical Democrats and their partners in the media try to resurrect a dead witch hunt.

'Just like with every other hoax that President Trump has been targeted with, there is no crime, except for election interference through weaponization of our justice system against President Trump and his supporters.'

Bragg's office and McDougal's lawyer hadn't commented on the latest development on Thursday afternoon.

American Media Inc, the owner of the National Enquirer, paid $150,000 to McDougal in 2016 for exclusive rights to the story about her alleged affair with Trump, which he denies. But the purchase was a 'catch and kill' tactic to prevent the story being made public.

The Federal Election Commission later ruled that the company and its former president, David Pecker, struck the deal with Trump officials in order to suppress the story and 'prevent it from influencing the election'.

The FEC ruling detailed how Pecker and AMI met with Trump's former fixer Michael Cohen to help make negative stories about Trump and his relationships go away.

And it concluded that AMI 'coordinated' with the Trump campaign in paying $150,000 to McDougal. Pecker gave evidence to the Trump grand jury on Monday.
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Re: Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

Postby admin » Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:31 am

Judge Warns of “American Democracy in Peril” during Constitution Day Speech
Michigan Law, University of Michigan
by Sharon Morioka
September 28, 2022
https://michigan.law.umich.edu/news/jud ... day-speech

NOTICE: THIS WORK MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT

YOU ARE REQUIRED TO READ THE COPYRIGHT NOTICE AT THIS LINK BEFORE YOU READ THE FOLLOWING WORK, THAT IS AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR PRIVATE STUDY, SCHOLARSHIP OR RESEARCH PURSUANT TO 17 U.S.C. SECTION 107 AND 108. IN THE EVENT THAT THE LIBRARY DETERMINES THAT UNLAWFUL COPYING OF THIS WORK HAS OCCURRED, THE LIBRARY HAS THE RIGHT TO BLOCK THE I.P. ADDRESS AT WHICH THE UNLAWFUL COPYING APPEARED TO HAVE OCCURRED. THANK YOU FOR RESPECTING THE RIGHTS OF COPYRIGHT OWNERS.


[x]
Judge Luttig speaking at Constitution Day

The United States currently faces challenges to the Constitution and rule of law that are unprecedented in its 246-year history due to divisions among its citizens, said the Hon. J. Michael Luttig at the University of Michigan’s annual Constitution Day commemoration on September 22. He therefore called upon the citizens of the country to come to the aid of a struggling America by focusing on what unites us.

“We need to rediscover the truths that we once believed to be self-evident,” he said. “We need to rediscover and reexamine, if need be, the ideals, the truths, the values, the principles on which our country is founded and has flourished for almost two and a half centuries.”

Judge Luttig served for nearly 15 years on the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, following his appointment by President George H.W. Bush. He also was assistant attorney general in charge of the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel. In his Constitution Day speech hosted by the Law School, “American Democracy in Peril,” he pointed to several signs that America is plagued by division.

“On this Constitution Day, our country, our institutions of government and governance, the institutions of our democracy, and our institutions of law and law enforcement are under vicious, unsustainable, and unendurable attack from within our own country,” he said.

He cited a recent Quinnipiac University poll showing that nearly three-quarters of both Republicans and Democrats agree that democracy is on the verge of collapse. Other polls show plunging respect and support for other institutions, including the US Supreme Court. For example, according to the Pew Research Center, only 48 percent of the public view the nation’s highest court favorably, and 49 percent view it unfavorably. The rating is as negative as at any point in more than three decades of polling. The White House, Congress, and the media, he added, fare little better and usually worse.

“Is even a figurative civil war to be our generation’s legacy to posterity?”

Judge Luttig is known for the open letter circulated by then-Vice President Mike Pence on January 6, 2021, in response to calls from President Trump and his supporters that Pence reject the Electoral College votes from swing states and invalidate the 2020 presidential election results. The vice president’s letter quoted the judge’s assertion that the “only responsibility and power of the Vice President under the Constitution is to faithfully count the Electoral College votes as they have been cast” and not “to alter in any way the votes that have been cast, either by rejecting certain votes or otherwise.”

The judge spoke about the impact of that day on the country.

“On January 6, 2021, had then-Vice President Pence not defied the demands of the former president, the United States would have been plunged into a paralyzing constitutional crisis,” Judge Luttig said. Almost two years later, he added, many believe that the United States remains on the cusp of a constitutional crisis.

With political violence on the rise, he noted, some believe that even civil war is imminent. In his June 2022 testimony before the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack on the Capitol, Judge Luttig asked, “Is even a figurative civil war to be our generation’s legacy to posterity?”

The country is still divided on whether the attack on the Capitol was good or bad, right or wrong, needed or not needed, he said.

“If one of the two political guardians of our democracy cannot even agree as to whether the violent riot and occupation of the United States Capitol that obstructed and prevented the constitutionally prescribed counting of the votes for the presidency of those same United States was reprehensible insurrection or legitimate political discourse, we all can agree on nothing, nor should we.”

“To steal an election in the United States of America is to steal America's democracy”

Judge Luttig—who, with a group of judges, US senators, and politicians and lobbyists, co-authored the July 2022 paper, “Lost, Not Stolen: The Conservative Case that Trump Lost and Biden Won the 2020 Presidential Election”—reminded the audience that the former president and his political allies still claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

“The 2020 election was not stolen from the former president, but if one of our national elections is ever stolen from us in the way that the former president attempted to steal the last presidential election, our democracy will have been stolen from us. To steal an election in the United States of America is to steal America's democracy.”

Judge Luttig said that the war for America’s democracy that was instigated on January 6 was just the next battle in the cultural war for America’s heart and soul that has been ravaging the country for years.

“America can withstand attacks on our Constitution and our democracy from without, but she is helpless to withstand them from within.”

“We the People of the United States”

He did, however, issue a call to action for Americans who yearn for unity. That begins with people civilly talking together as fellow citizens who have the same belief in America rather than politicians who, he said, live in a fictional world of divided loyalties between party and country.

“So, our political leaders having failed us, to whom do we turn?” he asked. “The answer lies in the first seven words of the Constitution written by the prophets of our nation’s founding. We turn to ‘We the People of the United States.’ We ourselves must come to the aid of our struggling America.” One opportunity to do that, he noted, presents itself in the upcoming midterm elections.

Judge Luttig also argued that Americans must resolve who we want to be and what we want America to be.

“We need to find our lost perspective, refocus more on the much that matters that we agree upon and that unites us, and focus less on the comparatively little of importance that we disagree upon and that separates and disunites us today.”

“Vow that it will be the law that triumphs over politics”

He challenged the law students in the audience to commit to these actions, noting that lawyers have always been the guardians and stewards of the Constitution and rule of law. For example, he said, 35 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 were lawyers or had legal training, 32 of the 55 framers of the Constitution were lawyers, and four of the five writers of the Declaration of Independence were lawyers.

“This Constitution Day, students of the University of Michigan, one of your moments of calling has come. Perhaps it is the first, but if it is, it certainly will not be the last. You, as are all Americans, are being summoned to stand, bear witness, and affirm that you believe in America and that you believe in our democracy,” he said. “I challenge you to vow that it will be the law that triumphs over politics and not politics that triumphs over the rule of law. If you do this, you will rise to what is your high calling.”
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Re: Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

Postby admin » Sun Apr 02, 2023 3:50 am

Trump INDICTMENT and What Happens Next
Legal AF
MeidasTouch
4/1/23

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Anchored by MT founder and civil rights lawyer, Ben Meiselas and national trial lawyer and strategist, Michael Popok, and joined for today’s episode by co-anchor and top former Manhattan prosecutor Karen Friedman Agnifilo, the top-rated news analysis podcast LegalAF is back for another hard-hitting look at the most consequential developments at the intersection of law and politics. On this week’s edition, the anchors discuss: the Trump Indictment on possibly 34 felony counts arising out of his paying off women to prevent them from going public with allegations that he had sex with them while married, and Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis ruling against Fox News, Fox Corp and its owners, executives and on air personalities, finding that all Dominion Voting Systems has to prove at trial to win this month is that Fox lied about Dominion with “actual malice” and prove damages, and so much more.

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Re: Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

Postby admin » Sun Apr 02, 2023 4:04 am

Trump reportedly “caught off guard” by 34-count indictment — melts down all night on Truth Social: "WHERE'S HUNTER?" Trump questioned while fuming that he was "indicated"
by IGOR DERYSH
Senior News Editor
Salon
PUBLISHED MARCH 31, 2023 8:54AM (EDT)
https://www.salon.com/2023/03/31/report ... th-social/

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[x]
Former President Donald Trump speaks during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Former President Donald Trump will be charged with more than 30 counts of falsifying business records after a Manhattan grand jury voted to indict him on Thursday, according to CNN.

The felony indictment, which remains under seal until Trump is arraigned as early as next Tuesday, includes 34 counts of falsifying business records, CNN reported, though the details of the charges remain unclear.

Despite predicting that he would be "arrested" in New York earlier this month, Trump and his aides were "caught off guard" by the news, according to Maggie Haberman of the New York Times.

Some of Trump's advisers were "confident" that there would be no movement from the grand jury until the end of April at the earliest after news reports earlier this week revealed the panel planned to go on a weeks-long pre-scheduled hiatus, according to the report.

Trump ahead of the indictment had been joking about "golden handcuffs," according to The Washington Post, but did not expect the news to land this week.

"It was a surprise to everybody," former longtime Trump adviser David Urban told the Post, which added that some of Trump's lawyers were preparing to take time off because they did not expect any movement for several weeks. Trump adviser Boris Ephsteyn even told the former president that he would not be indicted at all, according to the report.

Trump attorney Joe Tacopina acknowledged on Friday that Trump was initially "shocked."

"After he got over that, he put a notch on his belt and he decided we have to fight now," Tacopina told NBC's "Today." "He got into a typical Donald Trump posture where he's ready to be combative on something that he believes is an injustice."

[x]
TODAY
@TODAYshow
One of the attorneys representing former President Trump, Joe Tacopina, opens up to @SavannahGuthrie about the former President’s reaction to his indictment.

“[Trump] initially was shocked,” Tacopina said and later added, “He’s now in the posture that he’s ready to fight this.”

5:16 AM · Mar 31, 2023


Trump attempted to convey a calm demeanor by attending a "very public dinner with his wife, Melania, and her parents at the club at Mar-a-Lago," according to Haberman. But a Trump adviser told the Post that the former president was "irritated" and "deflated" on Thursday.

That was evident on Truth Social, where Trump posted and shared more than 45 "truths" since the indictment news broke.

"These Thugs and Radical Left Monsters have just INDICATED [sic] the 45th President of the United States of America, and the leading Republican Candidate, by far, for the 2024 Nomination for President," he wrote. "THIS IS AN ATTACK ON OUR COUNTRY THE LIKES OF WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN SEEN BEFORE. IT IS LIKEWISE A CONTINUING ATTACK ON OUR ONCE FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS. THE USA IS NOW A THIRD WORLD NATION, A NATION IN SERIOUS DECLINE. SO SAD!"

"They only brought this Fake, Corrupt, and Disgraceful Charge against me because I stand with the American People, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York!" Trump wrote two hours later.

"These Corrupt Democrat Prosecutors, all from poorly run and very dangerous Democrat run cities, are not going to choose the Republican Nominee, or the next President of the United States!" he later wrote.

"WHERE'S HUNTER?" Trump demanded in a 3 am post aimed at President Joe Biden's son.

Trump in a statement posted to the platform repeated his widely debunked lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him and alleged that the indictment amounts to "blatant Election Interference."

"Never before in our Nation's history has this been done before," Trump said, claiming that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg was "hand-picked and funded by George Soros," a billionaire Democratic donor and frequent target of antisemitic conspiracy theories.

"I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden," Trump continued. "The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here."

Haberman during an appearance on CNN predicted that Trump would "try to use the weekend to sway public opinion as much as possible."

"That's his go-to move… to try to shape public opinion and use that to try to force events," she said. "He was trying it with what was essentially an intimidation campaign against Alvin Bragg in the last two weeks. Clearly, it did not work."

Igor Derysh is Salon's senior news editor. His work has also appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Herald and Baltimore Sun.
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Re: Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

Postby admin » Sun Apr 02, 2023 4:07 am

Trump campaign says it raised more than $4 million in the 24 hours after his indictment: Trump's campaign sent out multiple fundraising asks following the news of his indictment.
by Allan Smith and Dasha Burns
March 31, 2023, 4:52 PM MDT
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald ... -rcna77699

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[x]
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Waco, Texas, on Mar. 25.Evan Vucci / AP

Former President Donald Trump raised more than $4 million in the 24 hours after news of his indictment in Manhattan became public, according to figures released by his campaign Friday.

The Trump campaign said that more than 25% of the donations came from first-time donors to the former president, "further solidifying President Trump’s status as the clear frontrunner in the Republican primary."

Trump's campaign sent out more than a half-dozen fundraising solicitations over email in less than 24 hours after his indictment, and he called for donations on his Truth Social platform as well.

A campaign official also told NBC News that it received 16,000 volunteer sign-ups over the past day as well.

The former president faces about 30 charges in relation to document fraud stemming from hush money he allegedly paid to cover up years-old affairs, two sources familiar the proceedings told NBC News following news of Trump’s indictment, which remains under seal until Trump appears in court for his arraignment.

Subject lines on his fundraising emails included "America needs you right now," "BREAKING: PRESIDENT TRUMP INDICTED," "RUMORED DETAILS OF MY ARREST" and "Yes, I've been indicted, BUT."

On Truth Social, Trump wrote: "If you are doing poorly, as so many of you are, do not send anything."

"If you are doing well, which was made possible through the great policies of the Trump Administration, send your contribution to donaldjtrump.com," he wrote.

Initially following the launch of his 2024 bid in November, the Trump campaign struggled to raise money; he pulled in only $9.5 million over the past six weeks of the year through the campaign and a joint fundraising committee.

Trump wasn't the only one taking advantage of the news to bring in some cash. Plenty of other Republicans and Democrats blasted out solicitations to their supporters as well.

Republicans, including potential 2024 rivals and battleground Senate candidates, have jumped to Trump’s defense and criticized the indictment in its aftermath.

A national Republican strategist said national GOP campaign groups have seen a spike in digital fundraising since Trump was indicted.

“We’ve seen a massive fundraising spike on the digital front as a result of this," this person said. "The base is on fire about this."

A Quinnipiac University survey released Wednesday found that 93% of Republicans and 72% of independent voters thought the Manhattan investigation was mainly motivated by politics rather than the law.

However, that same survey found that 53% of independent voters believe criminal charges should be disqualifying for Trump's presidential bid. Only 20% of Republicans thought that.

Allan Smith is a political reporter for NBC News.

Dasha Burns is an NBC News NOW correspondent who covers politics and social issues.
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Re: Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

Postby admin » Mon Apr 03, 2023 9:33 am

Trump's last-ditch THREAT against his prosecutor's wife BACKFIRES
by Glenn Kirschner and Brian Tyler Cohen
Apr 2, 2023

The Legal Breakdown episode 42: @GlennKirschner2 joins to discuss Trump's attacks against Alvin Bragg's wife and the judge overseeing the case.



Transcript

[Brian Tyler Cohen] you're watching the legal breakdown so
Glenn, Trump reposted onto true social a
swipe against Alvin Bragg's wife -- that's
the Manhattan district attorney. now he
did this as he's awaiting arraignment in
a trial being prosecuted by Alvin Bragg.
so what impact could this have, and is it
more likely that we could see a gag
order against Trump now?

[Glenn Kirschner] yeah, you know, this is really interesting,
and it's getting into dangerous
territory, because when you look at these
reposts, right, a journalist found some
information about Alvin Bragg's wife,
posting that, you know, Donald Trump is a
racist, Donald Trump should be held
accountable for his crimes. not exactly,
you know, late breaking news to anyone,
right? but after the reporter posted this
information about Bragg's wife, Donald
Trump started reposting it. now there's
nothing in it in and of itself that
would constitute a threat, or that
arguably would be improper,
but we know Donald Trump's MO. he
starts to put names in the Public Square,
and the signal he is sending is that
this person is a problem to me. what does
that Inspire some of his followers, you
know, the least among his followers to do?
well, we know it can incite them to
violence. so he knows what he's doing. he
he hasn't done anything that is directly
actionable yet, but boy, he's sending that
dangerous signal. and you know, he's got
priors. he's done this kind of thing
before. so I think all of this now may
become sort of fodder for discussion at
Donald Trump's first court appearance.

[Brian Tyler Cohen] well, how does this work in the sense that
what he did may not in and of itself be
a crime? but how do the circumstances
play into this? is there some degree of
circumstantial evidence that
could show that what he was trying to do,
by virtue of, you know, doing something
that's not necessarily in and of itself
a crime, but but where the intention is
to cause her violence? does that have any
impact here?

[Glenn Kirschner] you know, the First Amendment
does come into play here, right? the first
amendment protections are broad, are
sweeping. and that's precisely the way we
want them to be. the problem is when you
have a guy like Trump, who has
demonstrated a pattern, you know, throw
names into the Public Square, hoping that
it inspires something that will then
inure to his benefit?
or it may inure to the danger of the
person he's naming? it becomes a
really murky area. what can a judge do to
try to push back, or perhaps put a gag
order in place, to direct the defendant:
"stop posting about the prosecutor's
family." you know, I think that's fair game,
even though I'll tell you Brian, in my 30
years, I never encountered this kind of
stuff that we're now seeing with Donald
Trump.
certainly I never encountered it with
a public official like Donald Trump.
there were circumstances when we thought
people were saying some things that
might endanger a witness in the case, but
this is Donald Trump taking it to a
whole nother level. so you know, I think
this arraignment hearing coming up for
Trump is going to be unlike one we've
ever seen before, because of the the
novel issues that the prosecutor, the
defense attorney, and the judge are going
to have to wrestle with.

[Brian Tyler Cohen] well, with that
said, you mentioned the judge in this
case. Donald Trump also attacked the
judge online. what impact could that have
then?

[Glenn Kirschner] yeah, this is a really interesting
development. because Donald Trump posted
something about Judge Merchan, who is
the presiding judge in his case. he was
also the presiding judge in the criminal
prosecution of the Trump organization, a
case in which Allen weisselberg, Donald
Trump's Chief Financial Officer,
testified for the prosecution, even
though Allen weisselberg was no friend of
the prosecution. he kind of had one foot
in the DA's office, and one foot in the
Trump organization. so Donald Trump
posted about Judge Merchan the
following. he said, "judge Merchan hates
me." that's obviously a lie. he said,
"Alvin Bragg hand-picked judge
Merchan to be the presiding judge in
Trump's criminal prosecution." that's a
lie. that's not the way judges are
assigned to cases. and he said, "judge
Merchan railroaded Allen weisselberg, my
Chief Financial Officer, into pleading
Guilty, by basically threatening him."
again, another lie. so I am certain this
is going to become a topic of
discussion at Donald Trump's arraignment.
you know, you cannot make these wild
outrageous lies, throw them into the
Public Square, and hope that they sort of
blow up, and poison the jury well. so
there's something called recusal, right?
when a judge has an interest in a case,
he or she is supposed to recuse
themselves, remove themselves from the
case. if you have, for example, a family
member involved in a case, well then you,
as the judge, can't preside over that
case. if you have a financial interest
involving one of the parties in the case,
the judge can't preside over that kind
of a case. it feels like Donald Trump is
trying to tell so many inflammatory lies
about Judge Merchan, that he's hoping
maybe judge Merchan will remove himself,
will have to recuse from the case. but
here's the thing. defendants don't get to
orchestrate their judge. think about it.
if a defendant could make outrageous
lies about a judge, and then that judge
was ethically obligated to remove
himself from the case and have a new
judge appointed well, wouldn't that just
Inspire defendants to engage in
precisely this kind of conduct? but
here's what it might do, Brian. I think
these lies, this disinformation, this
propaganda, you know, really designed to
turn the people against judge Merchan,
and against the prosecution, I think ups
the ante that judge Merchan will impose
a gag order, will impose some kind of a
narrowly tailored set of restrictions,
the do's and don'ts of Donald Trump's
speech, and Donald Trump's posts. I
frankly think it's essential at this
point. because if you let it go
unaddressed, the way we've let so many
other things Donald Trump has done go
unaddressed, it's going to get worse, more
inflammatory, more inciting, and more
dangerous.

[Brian Tyler Cohen] well that of course raises the
question what happens if, and when, Donald
Trump breaks any gag order that was
imposed upon him. what are the
consequences of that?

[Glenn Kirschner] so the judge better not flinch. when a
judge sets conditions for a defendant,
and the defendant intentionally violates
those conditions, the judge has every
right, indeed every responsibility, to
then ratchet up the conditions. and the
ultimate in a pre-trial condition, is
pre-trial detention. jailing a defendant
pending trial, because the defendant has
proved they're unwilling to comply with
lesser restrictions designed to promote
Public Safety, and give the people a
right to a fair trial. now listen, a
defendant does not have a right to
poison the jury pool, because the
defendant has a right to a fair trial,
but the people also have a right to a
fair trial.

[Brian Tyler Cohen] okay now I want to skip ahead a little
bit here. and this is a question that
I've been throwing around with myself,
and uh it's skipping a bunch of steps,
but game this one out with me. what
happens if Trump is incarcerated at any
point in this process? not necessarily
just for the Manhattan DA's case, but
just in any of these cases that are
bearing down on him, what happens with
the Secret Service? like, if Trump is
incarcerated, given that they have to be
with him at all times, do they get locked
up with him?

[Glenn Kirschner] you know, it's a great question, and the
thing is, because it's unprecedented,
because these are uncharted waters, no
one can answer that question
definitively. now I've poked around with
some of my friends at the Bureau of
Prisons, and the U.S Marshals service, and
here is the best answer that I can
come up with.
and I think it's a leading contender.
so, you know, I put a lot of
defendants in Secure confinement
facilities because they were Cooperators.
you know, I had a Hitman who killed seven
people for a criminal organization, and
that Hitman flipped and testified for us.
and we had to keep that Hitman safe
pending trial. but we obviously also had
to keep that Hitman locked up.
so there are facilities -- I won't name
them, or say where they are -- there are
facilities in the United States that are
designed to house only cooperating
Witnesses where, you know, somebody, who is
in extreme danger because of the
assistance he's providing to the
government, can also be confined safely.
there's no reason that that can't be
done for Donald Trump. I could Envision,
if a former president of the United
States is ordered confined, is sentenced
to prison, I could see them actually
housing him in one of these facilities,
and housing only him, keeping all other
inmates in other facilities. here's the
other things that I've learned in talking
with some of my colleagues and former
colleagues at the Bureau of Prisons and
the Marshall service. it may very well be
that the Secret Service will enter into
a memorandum of understanding with BOP,
the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the
U.S Marshals service, which is the agency
that handles long-term witness
protection issues, to turn over the
security detail, and the security duties,
of a former president, from the Secret
Service, to the BOP in the U.S Marshals,
and arrange for this unprecedented
situation to be handled that way.

[Brian Tyler Cohen] got it,
because the flip side of that is like
imagine being the poor sucker who spent
his whole life working his way up to be
on the presidential detail in the Secret
Service, and you end up sitting in a
prison cell with the guy, because he
couldn't not commit crimes.

[Glenn Kirschner] not going to happen. they are not
going to subject Secret Service officers
to, you know, eight hour shifts in a
Federal Bureau of Prisons facility. I do
not see that happening.

[Brian Tyler Cohen] yeah, all right,
well obviously that's something that
we will keep a close eye on. for anybody
watching, to keep on top of all of this
legal news, whether it's in the Manhattan
DA's case, or any other case,
that we're contending with right now,
make sure to follow both of our channels.
the links are right here on the screen.
I'm Brian Taylor Cohen, and I'm Glenn
kirschner. you're watching the legal
breakdown.
[Music]
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Re: Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

Postby admin » Tue Apr 11, 2023 2:27 am

Trump hit with FINAL WARNING from Fulton County Prosecutor
by Michael Popok
MeidasTouch
Apr 10, 2023

Michael Popok of Legal AF reports on Fulton County DA Fani Willis warning Trump that she will not tolerate him threatening her, her staff or family, like he has done in New York, opening him up to the crime of intimidation under Georgia law.



Transcript

I'm Michael popock legal AF with breaking
news Fani Willis watching how Donald
Trump is attacking the judge and
prosecutor in Manhattan
she's sitting in Fulton County Georgia
about to make her charging decision
likely in May before another grand jury
she is warning Donald Trump that if he
tries what he's doing in Manhattan in
Georgia he's in for a world of hurt and
ultimately possibly adding new charges
for intimidation against the
prosecutor's office and or his family
this in a recent interview just a day or
so after Donald Trump took to the
Ballroom in Mar-A-Lago and started
bashing all of the prosecutors calling
them if they're black racists if uh if
they're black animals and if they're
Jack Smith insane out of control
depraved this is all the code words that
he uses that he mixes and matches for
the various prosecutors depending upon
their ethnic background their racial
background and the like and phony Willis
Fulton County prosecutor who's
investigating Georgia election
interference has told Donald Trump in no
uncertain terms you come after my family
you come after my staff you come after
me in an in a proper way you've crossed
the line you're no longer exercising
proper First Amendment right to speak
freely while you're presumed innocent
and you've now committed potentially
another crime and how do we know Donald
Trump's going to do it because while he
was in the courtroom in Manhattan while
all the prosecutors are watching Jack
Smith and all of his line prosecutors
Fani Willis and all of her line
prosecutors the Manhattan DA's office
and their dozen prosecutors that are
going after Donald Trump now that he's
been indicted they're all watching to
see what he's going to do what he's
going to write what he's going to say
because they're going to use it in their
case they're going to use it in front of
a judge to try to get a gag order if
possible they're going to use it to say
that he's violated the terms related to
his indictment or his arraignment
they're going to use it against him at
trial they're going to use it against
him when he tries to get his hands on
certain Discovery produced by the a
prosecution because there's going to be
protective orders that would place and
every time the prosecutor needs
something in his Arsenal to put in front
of the judge Donald Trump is more than
willing to provide it to him you want
evidence that I'm not going to respect
the the rules of this Courthouse the
rules of this court I'll give it to you
you want evidence that I don't respect
the judge and I'm going to attack him
mercilessly and go after his family and
his daughter and his wife I'm going to
give it to you you want evidence that
I'm going to go after the prosecutor and
his family and his wife and call them
inappropriate things and threaten them
to dismiss the indictment I will give it
to you I mean this is like Manna From
Heaven this is a cornucopia of evidence
if I'm the prosecutors in these cases I
am salivating I'm rubbing my hands in
Glee because I've got an out of control
crazed uh opponent
on the other side who's giving me gifts
every day that I can use actually in
real time in my cases and phony Willis
keeping her eyes on Donald Trump who's
now squealing like a pig uh you know
having been now indicted once he went
after Fani Willis in Mar-A-Lago and
and this now Infamous crazy
um you know uh Mutiny uh the cane Mutiny
uh weird uh show of uh psychobabble
where he just went prosecution by
prosecution against everybody and ended
up attacking them one by one and here's
it's easy if you're a block prosecutor
or somebody like who's the New York
attorney general you're a racist and
you're an animal so you're dehumanized
if you're white you're insane
um and you're politically motivated and
everybody's a trump hater and
everybody's a trump pastor and let's
find out what their wives and
girlfriends and grandmothers have done
for a living or what or if they've been
a Democrat or not and let's call
attention to the fact that prosecutors
are elected in a political process
generally they're either Republican or
Democrat to make a big deal out of that
this is the Playbook and Fani Willis
like judge Merchan in New York who said
almost the exact same thing to Donald
Trump when he was the first judge to
have him in his courtroom for a criminal
charge he say he looked at Mr Trump in
the eye and he said if you go beyond the
First Amendment and you try to incite
violence
in this city you and I are going to have
a problem
and I'm going to draw the line there and
Fani Willis picked up on that very same
theme and said I recognize the First
Amendment
but there are limits and if you go after
me my family or my staff you've crossed
that line and particularly there is a
line in Georgia as there is in most
other states and the line is expressed
in a criminal statute it's actually a
couple of them that I think would apply
that would apply in this particular case
and you look at if you want to find it
and we'll put it up on the screen it's
16-10-97 of the criminal code of Georgia
and in particular and I'll read for you
what it says
it says that a person who by threat or
Force by any threatening action letter
or communication injures any officer of
the Court that's the prosecutor in this
case in any proceeding in any such Court
then it is punishable as a felony up to
20 years in prison and a five thousand
dollar fine and that's not all there's
another provision that says if the
attack is on the family of a law
enforcement member which is a prosecutor
it's another felony and it's punishable
up to five years in prison
so watch it
former president watch it Mr Trump who
identified himself in court and in his
booking
as a businessman not even as the former
president which he loves to call himself
you know president Trump when they asked
them in New York because New Yorkers
don't care about what you did in the
past especially Donald Trump what's your
profession he didn't say I'm a Statesman
I'm a former president I I have an
Institute I I do foreign policy I saw
I'm going for the Peace Prize like Jimmy
Carter or Clinton or Obama he's a
businessman I'm a businessman well Mr
businessman if you go after Fani Willis
and you keep making these statements in
order for you to grift and bring in
additional money because every time you
make a statement like that you raise
five to 40 million dollars a day that's
on record we know that from your packs
and all the other stuff that you're
doing she's going after you and since
she hasn't made her indicting decision I
mean the the the the the mental
depravity of Donald Trump
and just the stupid strategy of
pressuring and attacking prosecutors who
haven't even yet made their charging
decision
is beyond stupid
Jack Smith is going to indict Donald
Trump
for one of three grand juries that are
sitting in the District of Columbia
whether it's Mar-A-Lago whether it's
intentional intentional and fair
interference with the election process
and the peaceful transfer of power or
it's the money grift off of your failure
to recognize Joe Biden as the president
a dutifully elected by voters one of
those three things or all of those three
things attacking him and calling him a
radical which is incorrect and calling
him a Democrat he's a not he's an
independent and calling him insane when
your own lawyer Jim trustee one of your
several this one has been able to keep
himself out of being indicted himself or
before the grand jury worked closely
with Jack Smith their friends when they
work together in the U.S attorney's
office and he'll it'll say the exact
opposite just ask the guy next to you
ask your lawyer next to you but that's
not going to help you Mr Trump that's
not going to help you in averting an
indictment if anything it's just pissing
off the career
investigators FBI agents
um prosecutor investigators and line
prosecutors who are eating sleeping and
drinking you Donald Trump every day for
the last two years it's just making them
focus more
it's just making them just a little bit
more invested in bringing you down based
on the evidence that they are developing
same thing for phony Willis attacking
her is not going to make her go away
it's only going to make her more
redouble her efforts and her
perseverance to go after you
to make them feel good every morning
about getting up and going after and
taking down somebody who's as vile as
you are in your attacks not only on
prosecutors Eric who barely get paid to
do that job but their families their
wives their daughters
okay we're going to talk about wives and
daughters why don't you talk about
Clarence Thomas's wife Jenny why don't
you talk about all those other
relationships and the siblings and the
daughters and sons of Donald Trump
grifting all along the way with our
enemies do that talk about that but
let's not talk about the fact that you
know judge mershon in New York's
daughter
worked for a time as a Democrat worked
for the time
for Kamala Harris you know on her
campaign who cares what does that have
to do with anything
you know uh women and children and and
husbands and wives are separate units
okay they're independent and they get to
make their own decisions in this world
about who they're going to vote for
doesn't mean that their significant
other is Prosecuting you because they're
Democrats or because you know somebody
tweeted out something
doesn't give you the right to put up
pictures of you trying to brain the
Manhattan D.A with a baseball bat and
says Fani Willis has said I've had
enough I've watched you I've watched all
the things that you did and all the lies
that you're continuing to tell to your
supporters
about Fulton County in its investigation
he keeps saying because he thinks it
fits on it neatly on a bumper sticker
there was one perfect phone call in
Fulton County and this crazy racist uh
uh Trump hater uh prosecutors going
after me for it by the way there's not
just one phone call we now know from the
special purpose grand jury that there's
at least four or five phone calls
involving you calling all different
people in Georgia frantically trying to
get them to throw the election to you so
you not only called raffensberger
looking for 11 780 votes on January the
second but you also called David Ralston
who died in November but at the time was
the speaker of the Georgia house and
asked him get this as part of irony
asked him to impale a special purpose
grand jury just like the one that was
just used against you by fawnee Willis
in order to take the election results
away from Joe Biden and throw the
election over to you
and and even Ralston whose right wing as
it came now that he's he's passed away
I'll mention it he even said no we're
not doing that so you have that phone
call you've got the phone call we just
talked about Trump called the governor
and try to get Brian Kemp to uh have a
special session of the legislature and
to do something about it so there's not
just one phone call there's multiple
phone calls
between Ross and raffensberger Kemp all
by Donald Trump all recorded
at all in evidence with Fani Willis
down in Georgia so stop lying to your
followers and your cultists about what
the nature of the indictment that is
likely to come in May or beginning of
June out of Fulton County is all about
and stop attacking law enforcement
who put their law who you know put their
lives on the line every day
okay and try to create and incite and
foment violence against them in this
country we've had federal judges who
have been assassinated we've had family
members of federal judges who were
assassinated because they were home and
the judge wasn't home we've had bombs
sent to federal and state judges
some some were successful at
assassinating that member some weren't
we've had
DA's and federal prosecutors shot and
killed
okay
that is the nature of what's happened
here in this country we have police of
course that have been attacked FBI
agents who have been attacked
it's inappropriate
it's not a game it's not television
it's not it's not another episode of
succession it's real life when Don Jr
doxes
a wife a daughter that could be your
wife or your daughter out there watching
that is what this family is about that's
the vile corrupt nature of what is being
prosecuted
some of which is is for right now he's
being prosecuted for things before he
was even president the next round is
going to be for things he did uh while
he was president
and while he had left office
so we're going to get it all we're going
to get while he was president
after he left being president and before
he was president
that's who Donald Trump was
we elected
you know the majority a corrupt
individual who he and his family have
been corrupt for a long long time had no
place being anywhere near that sacred
hollowed Oval Office to to represent the
United States with the honor of being
the president
that's what we elected and his grift and
kleptocracy continued on the way in
once he was in office and after he left
office and now the prosecutors are just
going after the facts putting them in
front of a jury of his peers and walking
away with indictments and hopefully in
the future convictions
but right now
phony Willis and the other prosecutors
are banding together to let Donald Trump
know with a hard shove that his efforts
of intimidation are not working and if
he crosses the line and gets himself out
from under First Amendment he'll be
subject to gag orders
other conditions of arraignment and
possibly crop being charged with crime
of intimidation
we'll talk more about these things and
follow up with them on hot takes just
like this one
and I co-anchor on Wednesdays and
Saturdays the leading political and
legal podcast on the Midas touch Network
it's called Legal AF if you like what
I'm doing Michael popock you can follow
me on social media at Ms popoc this is
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Re: Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

Postby admin » Sun Apr 16, 2023 3:13 am

Manhattan DA receives new suspicious white powder envelope: Police sources
The DA's office later said the substance was non hazardous.

by Aaron Katersky
ABC News
April 12, 2023, 4:56 PM

The New York City Police Department responded to a new threatening letter sent to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Wednesday, according to police sources.

The sources told ABC News the letter contained a white powder and was discovered just after 3 p.m. in the basement mailroom at 80 Centre Street. The DA's office later said the NYPD determined that the powder was nonhazardous.

"We thank our partners at the NYPD Emergency Service Unit and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection for their quick response,” a spokesperson for Bragg said.

There were no reports of injuries or sickness.

This is at least the second time Bragg has received a letter containing a suspicious white powder since former President Donald Trump started writing on social media about his impending indictment.

Bragg has been receiving additional security protection.

His lawsuit against House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan said the office has received more than a thousand threatening or harassing calls and emails. Bragg himself has received “multiple” death threats since Trump’s indictment, police sources told ABC News.
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Re: Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

Postby admin » Fri Apr 21, 2023 2:26 am

Court of Appeals Issues IMPORTANT ORDER In Manhattan DA Case against Jim Jordan
by Ben Meiselas
MeidasTouch
Apr 20, 2023

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued an Order pausing or staying the subpoena issued by Republican Jim Jordan where Jordan is trying to interfere with the Manhattan District Attorney’s criminal case against Donald Trump. MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports.



Transcript

I'm Ben Meiselas from the Meidas touch
Network the second Circuit Court of
Appeals has issued a very important
ruling
that is not going to make Maga
Republican Jim Jordan and the other Mega
Republicans in the House of
Representatives happy at all in the
second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a
stay on a lower Federal Court's order
which temporarily pauses the requirement
that Mark Pomerantz a former assistant
special district attorney testified
before the house Judiciary Committee
pursuant to a subpoena that was sent out
by Maga Republican Jim Jordan and the
Maga Republic in control Judiciary
Committee you'll remember that the Maga
Republicans have continued in the House
of Representatives especially have
continued to try to interfere first with
the Manhattan district attorney offices
criminal investigation into Donald Trump
and now that Manhattan district attorney
Alvin Bragg has filed criminal charges
against Donald Trump the house Judiciary
Committee again controlled by Mega
Republicans have tried to interfere with
the criminal case against Donald Trump
brought by the Manhattan District
Attorney's office now one of the ways
they've tried to interfere is by sending
these subpoenas out to the Manhattan
District Attorney's office and the most
imminent subpoena return date I mean
this is why a lawsuit had to be filed by
a Manhattan district attorney Alvin
Bragg against Jim Jordan and the
republican-controlled Judiciary
Committee is that Mark Pomerantz a
former Special Assistant district
attorney was set to have his deposition
taken pursuant to a subpoena on April
20th 2023 so it was an imminent
deposition that was scheduled then the
Manhattan District Attorney's Office
argued that there is no legitimate
legislative purpose for the federal
government for the House of
Representatives to conduct depositions
of former or current employees of the
District Attorney's Office in
furtherance of trying to interfere with
a criminal case that is being pursued
Law and Order specifically state and
local prosecutions are under the
umbrella of State sovereignty you Mega
Republicans remember when you were
talking about states rights this yeah
the House of Representatives can't
interfere on a case-by-case basis if
they don't like the way a state or local
prosecution is taking place and they
can't invade things like grand jury
secrecy and the confidential
Communications of the Manhattan District
Attorney's Office these were the
arguments made by Manhattan district
attorney Alvin Bragg first in letters
that went back and forth with uh Jim
Jordan in the Judiciary Committee and
finally when Jim Jordan said no we're
keeping this subpoena of Mark Pomerantz
on calendar
Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg
had to file this Federal lawsuit
unfortunately for the Manhattan District
Attorney's office they drew a judge the
selection of the judge these judges is
random about which judge you're going to
get but he filed this case in the
southern district of New York the
federal court that has jurisdiction over
this matter and they drew a judge
appointed by Donald Trump federal judge
Mary Kay Vyskocil and when I saw that
that judge was assigned I knew right
away that Manhattan district attorney
Alvin Bragg was not going to win his
lawsuit and sure enough federal judge
Vyskocil made a ruling on Wednesday of
this week that Jim Jordan had a valid
legislative purpose for hauling in Mark
Pomerantz and potentially even seeking
other individuals to depose within the
Manhattan district attorney office and
to get testimony from and what judge
Vyskocil said in her order is that the
valid legislative purpose is one there
are sometimes Federal forfeiture funds
that are shared with States and so here
in connection with the criminal case
against Donald Trump I think the
Manhattan District Attorney's Office
stated look I think maybe about five
thousand dollars of federal forfeiture
funds may have been used and so um just
you know a federal forfeiture funds is
when someone is charged with a crime and
they've made all of this money based on
their criminal conduct the Federal
Government Can seize that and then
there's a sharing arrangement with
States depending on you know where the
person was arrested or which task forces
were responsible for the arrest so the
judge said well if federal funds had
something involved in it then surely the
House of Representatives that could be a
legitimate legislative purpose as Jim
Jordan's arguing to me you know and the
other thing that Jim Jordan argued that
the court accepted even though the court
says in the first page of her order no
one is above the law and the Court's
referring to Mark Pomerantz like Pomerantz
you have to testify and Manhattan
District Attorney's Office you think
you're above the law but one of the
justifications about why the House of
Representatives is involved and I'm not
making this up this is specifically the
federal justification that the house of
rep that Jim Jordan gave about why the
Judiciary Committee is involved is that
the mega Republicans in the House of
Representatives want to pass a law to
provide complete immunity to provide
total immunity to former presidents who
are criminally prosecuted they want to
pass a law on that a law like that would
be entirely unconstitutional because no
one is above the law but the court said
well if that is a justification that
they want to pass a law then there is
some hook here there is some legitimate
valid legislative purpose and so we're
not going to it's not my job as a
federal judge to scrutinize is whether
that purpose is real or whether they're
just making up that purpose in order to
interfere with the Manhattan District
Attorney's efforts to prosecute Donald
Trump the court also said I don't really
think there's a sovereign there's an
issue of State sovereignty here and then
finally the court said
um the Privileges that may be asserted
by Mark Pomerantz
um assuming Pomerantz hasn't waived his
Privileges and we'll get to that in a
moment Pomerantz when he is uh deposed
or when he gives testimony before the
Judiciary Committee he doesn't have to
answer all of the questions if there are
questions that touch upon grand jury
secrecy or other confidential
information that takes place within the
Manhattan district attorney's office
that he cannot answer due to privileges
being asserted by the Manhattan District
Attorney's office he could simply say
I'm declining to answer because of this
privilege or because of that privilege
because of grand jury secrecy because of
other confidential criminal
investigation privileges and so the
court said we are not the court said
that this court is not saying that
you've waived necessarily Your Privilege
assert your privileges and then we could
have a discussion about whether or not
you've waived your privileges or whether
you're validly asserting them but the
court said you may have actually waived
your privileges mark Pomerantz because
you did write a book on this and you put
a lot of this information in a book you
published it publicly so you kind of put
yourself out there and now you kind of
reap what you sow and that this is
partially your fault for for writing
this book and the Manhattan District
Attorney's Office point is we didn't
authorize you know Pomerantz to write
this book and we're the ones who hold
the privilege so if he engage in
misconduct he's the one who put himself
in this situation but he's not allowed
to waive privileges for our office and
just to remind you of the Pomerantz book
and why he wrote the book Pomerantz was
a Special Assistant district attorney
within under
Cy Vance when Cy Vance
was the Manhattan district attorney then
Cy vance is term ended Alvin Bragg won
the race for Manhattan district attorney
and Alvin Bragg wanted to pursue the
criminal investigations of Donald Trump
at a different pace so the Manhattan
district attorney under Alvin Bragg
first successfully criminally prosecuted
the Trump organization on 10 on I think
it was 17 felony counts and under nine
or ten hours the jury reached a verdict
and all of those 17 felony counts of the
Trump organizations they felon the next
priority the Manhattan District
Attorney's Office had was the
falsification of business records case
where Donald Trump Trump paid hush money
payments to Stormy Daniels in connection
with the 2016 election and called them
legal expenses but the Manhattan
District Attorney's office said we're
going to do this falsification case
which they charged Donald Trump but
we're not quite ready to pursue charges
against Donald Trump for his financial
fraudulent valuations
which is what is the subject of a civil
case by the New York attorney general's
office Leticia James's office that's set
for trial October 2nd 2023 right so you
have a civil case by the New York
attorney general Leticia James on
financial fraudulent valuations the
Manhattan district attorney said we're
not willing we're not ready to do that
criminal case yet let the New York AG do
the civil case we'll do a criminal case
on the falsification of business records
and then we're still do the
investigation of Donald Trump regarding
his financial fraud we're just going to
sequence it Trump org falsification of
business records than broader financial
fraud investigation and those charges
potentially could be brought later that
made Mark Pomerantz upset Pomerantz
thought that the falsification of
business record Stormy Daniels case was
not as strong and that the financial
fraud case of Donald Trump was ready to
go and wanted to bring that immediately
and Pomerantz said why are we delaying
this one so Pomerantz resigned because
he didn't like the order that Alvin
Bragg went in and then wrote a book
about it and and that book was very
public did a media tour
and so one of the things that federal
judge Vyskocil says in her order is he
did a book tour
um I don't know why he did a book tour
he's he's a smart lawyer but he should
now have to answer questions before the
Judiciary Committee um and the Manhattan
District Attorney's office is like yeah
that's he may have violated the law when
he did that book tour but he can't waive
the Privileges and confidences that we
have in our office
um you know another point I want to make
though and I think this is an important
one regarding Alvin Bragg's timeline
about how Alvin Bragg has pursued these
various investigations you'll recall
from another report we did here at the
Midas touch Network that the New York
attorney general Leticia James deposed
Trump last week and in her deposition
Donald Trump spent seven hours answering
deposition questions and then even made
a post on his social media platform
after saying my company's so valuable
it's even more valuable than what I put
in the statement to find then he said
the so-called statement of financials
which are the statement of financial
conditions and the whole civil case
brought by the New York attorney general
is that Donald Trump was inflating and
deflating these uh State the values of
his properties on his statement of
financial conditions to try to get
favorable lending terms uh to pay less
in taxes and to get favorable terms from
insurers so it seems like Donald Trump
may have further incriminated himself in
this deposition and the fact that the
Manhattan District Attorney's Office
sequenced it this way so as to not
interfere with the New York attorney
general's civil case and to not
interfere with Leticia James's
deposition of Donald Trump because now
you have all that wealth of information
from Trump's deposition which can now be
used in the potential criminal case
regarding the broader Financial uh uh
fraud crimes that knew that the
Manhattan District attorney Alvin Bragg
could indeed charge Donald Trump with so
I really do think that Mark Pomerantz has
been very short-sighted though in
resigning and while Pomerantz may have
been right that those financial fraud
crimes are more serious and could have
been ready the fact that Manhattan
district attorney Alvin Bragg waited has
now allowed him to get all that
information from Trump's deposition
taken by the New York attorney general
which Bragg's office would never have
gotten it would have made the case a lot
weaker so the case is now much much
stronger because
of Manhattan district attorney Alvin
Bragg's strategizing here so just to
close the loop though on everything in
terms of where we go next right so Lower
Court federal judge in New York there's
a federal court there's different
districts so the southern district of
New York the judges federal judge Mary
Kay Vyskocil she makes a ruling that
Mark Pomerantz you need to testify show
up on April 20th the court of appeals
the second circuit which oversees New
York federal courts it's the it's the
higher level Court they then say pause
we need to look at this don't don't take
that testimony yet don't take a
deposition yet of Pomerantz submit us
briefs uh we want to hear briefs from
the Manhattan district attorney we want
to hear briefs from the
um from Jim Jordan and the house
Judiciary Committee and then we're going
to review what the lower court did will
make the decision and then depending on
that ruling the parties May appeal to
the United States Supreme Court so we
will keep you posted on all of the steps
but that is everything that is happening
right now in uh Alvin Bragg's lawsuit
against Jim Jordan we'll keep you posted
here of course on the Midas touch
Network I'm Ben Meiselas
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Re: Trump goes after Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg & His Wife

Postby admin » Sun Apr 23, 2023 5:14 am

DA Bragg withdraws appeal; Pomerantz to testify about Trump probe; will expose Jim Jordan's game
by Glenn Kirschner
Apr 22, 2023 #TeamJustice

After an appellate court put a temporary stop to a judge's order directing Mark Pomerantz to testify about the New York criminal investigation of Donald Trump, District Attorney Alvin Bragg withdrew his appeal and negotiated favorable terms regarding Pomerantz's congressional testimony. Those terms include that Bragg's general counsel, Leslie Dubeck, will being present at the deposition to protect the integrity of Bragg's prosecution and ongoing investigations of Trump's New York State crimes.

This video discusses why Pomerantz, an experienced prosecutor who has handled organized crime cases and RICO cases, will run circles around Jim Jordan and his Republican cohorts on the House Judiciary Committee.



Transcript

[Glenn Kirschner] So friends, former New York prosecutor
Mark Pomerantz who investigated some of
Donald Trump's New York State crimes
will testify to Jim Jordan's house
Judiciary Committee
who's ready to see Pomerantz verbally tap
dance all over Jim Jordan's head
let's talk about that
because Justice matters
thank you
[Music]
hey all Glenn kirschner here so friends
Mark Pomerantz the prosecutor who
investigated some of Donald Trump's New
York State crimes when he Pomerantz was
at the Manhattan District Attorney's
office which is now headed up by D.A
Alvin Bragg Mark Pomerantz will testify
before Congress
recall that Jim Jordan chairman of the
house Judiciary Committee subpoenaed
Pomerantz yes Jim Jordan who himself
criminally defied violated blew off a
congressional subpoena the the very kind
of congressional subpoenas Jordan is now
issuing yeah it's the death of irony
Jim Jordan subpoenaed Pomerantz to
testify about his work on the criminal
investigation of Donald Trump
and so Pomerantz ultimately now will
testify in May to the jordan-led
committee that really should be renamed
it should be the Congressional committee
to Aid and abet Donald Trump
here is the recent New York Times
reporting
headline Bragg agrees to let X
prosecutor testify about Trump case in
Congress
and that article begins
a former prosecutor who once helped lead
an investigation of Donald Trump will
testify before Congress next month
ending for now a legal dispute between
Republican lawmakers and Alvin Bragg the
Manhattan district attorney who had
sought to block the testimony
the former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz is
now scheduled to testify under oath to
representatives of the house Judiciary
Committee in a closed-door deposition on
May 12th
Mr Pomerantz worked for the Manhattan
District Attorney's office for about a
year but resigned more than a year
before Mr Trump was indicted and wrote a
book that described his frustration with
Mr Bragg's approach to the investigation
representative Jim Jordan a republican
Ohio subpoenaed Mr Pomerantz this month
shortly after Mr Bragg unveiled charges
against Mr Trump accusing him of
orchestrating the cover-up of a hush
money payment made to a porn star in
2016.
Mr Bragg then sued Mr Jordan the
chairman of the house Judiciary
Committee accusing him of meddling in
the Affairs of the District Attorney's
Office once it indicted Mr Trump
the lawsuit sought to block the
questioning of Mr Pomerantz
after a federal judge declined to Halt
the interview both Mr Bragg and Mr
Pomerantz appealed to the U.S court of
appeals for the second circuit the
appeals court delayed the questioning
which had originally been scheduled for
Thursday
during the delay lawyers for Mr Bragg
and Mr Jordan negotiated and reached an
agreement that was announced on Friday
evening
a spokeswoman for the District
Attorney's office said in a statement
that the resolution would allow the
office's general counsel Leslie dubeck
to be present for the questioning of Mr
Pomerantz a lawyer for Mr Pomerantz is
also expected to be present and Mr
Pomerantz May decline to answer
questions that he has not authorized to
discuss
Congressional Republicans May contest
his right to remain silent in future
proceedings
quote our successful stay of this
subpoena blocked the immediate
deposition and afforded us the time
necessary to coordinate with the house
Judiciary Committee on an agreement that
protects the District Attorney's
Privileges and interests we are pleased
with this resolution which ensures any
questioning of our former employee Mark
Pomerantz will take place in the
presence of our general counsel on a
reasonable agreed-upon time frame we are
grateful that the second circuit's
ruling provided us with the opportunity
to successfully resolve this dispute
so friends the resolution of this issue
is not a win-win it's a win lose
it's a win for district attorney Alvin
Bragg and it is a loss for Jim Jordan
why do I say that well let's unpack it
Alvin Bragg managed to negotiate with
the house Judiciary Committee to have
his general counsel Leslie dubeck
present in the room during the
deposition for fully able to protect the
District Attorney's criminal prosecution
of Donald Trump and ongoing criminal
investigation of some of Donald Trump's
other crimes
such that if Pomerantz were inclined to
answer a question but general counsel
Leslie dubeck decided that the answer
could potentially harm the DA's ongoing
prosecution or investigations of Donald
Trump then she can shut it down she can
object to it now first of all I happen
to believe that dubeck and Pomerantz
will be lockstep on what questions
should be answered and what questions
should not be answered but here's the
beauty of it once there's an objection
to a question Jim Jordan has exactly
zero power
to compel a witness to testify to force
a witness to testify he has to just live
with the objection
unless he later wants to file suit and
try to force the issue in court have a
judge order that Jim Jordan is right and
the witness is wrong and the witness
really should have answered the question
yeah Jim Jordan is not going to do that
so Alvin Bragg's investigation and
prosecution of Donald Trump they are
completely protected because he'll have
his general counsel there participating
in the deposition of Mark Pomerantz
here's the other thing
Mark Pomerantz before he spent some time
working at the Manhattan District
Attorney's Office investigating Trump's
crimes he was a federal prosecutor for a
long time handling organized crime cases
Prosecuting Rico cases he prosecuted mob
boss John Gotti
he is well equipped to deal with Jim
Jordan heck he's had lots of relevant
training and experience
and I suspect he will verbally tap dance
all over Jim Jordan's head
and friends here's the other thing mark
Pomerantz
before he spent some time at the
Manhattan District Attorney's Office
investigating the crimes of Donald Trump
Pomerantz was a federal prosecutor
for a long time
handling organized crime cases Rico
cases he prosecuted mob boss John Gotti
he's well equipped to handle Jim Jordan
heck he's had lots of relevant training
and experience hasn't he
and you know Pomerantz based on his book
believes that the evidence proves Donald
Trump has committed all kinds of
felonies for which he has yet to be held
accountable so the testimony of Mark
Pomerantz
not going to go so good for Jim Jordan
or for Donald Trump
you know frankly this is one time I'm
kind of sorry that we're not going to
see the Republicans perform In Living
Color it's going to be behind closed
doors the testimony of Mark Pomerantz
you know usually I don't want to see the
Republicans fact-free questioning of
witnesses usually I don't want to see
Jim Jordan's you know deranged
Auctioneer performance you know talking
really fast so he can see how many lies
he can pack into his five minutes yeah
ordinarily I'm not so interested in
watching that but
given that I absolutely believe Mark
Pomerantz will verbally tap dance all
over Jim Jordan's head
I kind of wouldn't mind seeing it this
time around
but given that Pomerantz deposition will
not be public will have to wait
for I guess Jim Jordan's press releases
and TV appearances on the Fox
Entertainment Network where he will
Regale Fox viewers with stories of how
he beat up on mark Pomerantz behind
closed doors which of course will you
know bear no resemblance to the truth of
what happened very likely in the
Pomerantz deposition but we will also
get accounts from the Democrats on the
house Judiciary Committee and we will
get an accurate retelling of what
happened in the deposition what
Pomerantz said about the crimes that he
investigated Donald Trump's crimes the
many felony crimes
crimes that he concluded
he had sufficient evidence to indict and
to prove Beyond A Reasonable Doubt
because as you may have heard he ended
up leaving the Manhattan District
Attorney's Office in frustration because
the D.A wasn't prepared at that time to
indict Donald Trump for the crimes
Pomerantz had investigated and was
prepared to prove Beyond A Reasonable
Doubt
we will will get an accurate accounting
of all of that from the Democrats who
sit on Jim Jordan's committee to Aid and
abet Donald Trump
so so we will get a clear truthful
accurate sense of what Mark Pomerantz
testified to
and that's a good thing
because Justice
matters
friends as always please stay safe
please stay tuned and I look forward to
talking with you all again soon
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