Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, 49, etched himself in Democrat lore indicting 76-year-old former President Donald Trump for paying hush money to Stephanie Clifford AKA Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. Serving as Bragg’s star witness is disgraced, disbarred, convicted felon, former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen. With Bragg’s grand jury on hiatus during April, the press thought Bragg would defer any decision on going ahead with the indictment. Whether the charges stick or not in court is a crapshoot but the indictment itself breaks new ground indicting a former president. Nothing is more despicable that a former attorney breaching every known principle of legal privilege to betray his former boss who paid him millions to represent him in various legal matters. Bragg gave Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans everything and more than they dreamed.
Indicting Trump injects the U.S. press with unexpected euphoria, a favorite pastime over the last six years. Even when Trump left office kicking-and-screaming, Trump has been front-and-center in the Tabloids and mainstream press. What would liberal late-night talk show hosts do, like ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live or CBS’ “Late night with Stephen Colbert”, do without Trump to slam nightly? Indicting Trump represents the biggest goldmine to network and cable news, now speculating on what if anything will come from an indictment. Expected to surrender to New York authorities next week, the sheer spectacle of it all will make waves around the globe. Trump’s third run at the presidency is now in doubt, especially if Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland and Special Counsel Jack Smith press charges. Bragg has a 50/50 chance, maybe less, of getting a conviction.
Bragg’s indictment doesn’t itself lend a knockout punch against Trump’s political future but it does open the door for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fl.) and other GOP hopefuls waiting in the wings. Inherited from former Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr, Bragg seemed determined to go ahead, whether he gets a conviction or not. Democrats and the media pounced on the opportunity to see former President Trump in handcuffs, booked into New York’s central jail before bailed out. Trump’s haters finally got the red meat they’ve been waiting for after years of speculation. Whether Garland and Smith follow through with charges for Jan. 6 or Mar-a-Lago classified docs is anyone’s guess. Bragg’s indictment alone pulls the rug out from underneath Trump’s 2024 campaign, dragging the trial out to at least the 2024 Election Year. Trump’s detractors finally got what the wanted.
Bragg put all his eggs in the Trump basket, hoping, like so many other ambitions prosecutors, to use the publicity as a future stepping stone. Look at former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former U.S. attorney, not ready to jump back into the fray. No one like Christie and 2016, things aren’t likely to change in 2024. Whatever hopes he had of making another improbable comeback, his path to the White House just go more complicated. DeSantis, a favorite of many Republicans and independents, gets a big boost from Trump’s indictment. However many liberals he’s offended with his views on the border, guns or education, DeSantis will no doubt pivot in any general election campaign. If Biden decides to run again, he faces a bad match up with DeSantis who represents a new generation of U.S. leaders. Recent polls show that some Democrats and Republicans don’t want Biden to run due to age.
Faced with other possible prosecutions by the DOJ and with Georgia State election officials, Trump has far more to contend with than Bragg’s hush money case. Legal experts question whether he can use Michael Cohen as a star witness, no matter how damning the evidence. Cohen was convicted by U.S. authorities for violating federal election law with the payout to Stormy and arranging the National Enquirer tabloid to pay off former Playboy Centerfold Susan McDougal. Jurors won’t like the fact that Cohen took at least $420,000, may more from Trump to arrange payout to Stormy and McDougal. Disbarred and doing time for his crimes, Cohen’s word can’t mean much to jurors as Trump’s defense attorney make their case. Whatever the outcome, Trump’s 2024 has been crippled, if not ended. Pretending it’s all a hoax doesn’t undo the undeniable political reality.
Giving the U.S. press something other than Ukraine to write and talk about, Trump’s indictment is a welcomed distraction in an otherwise drab news cycle. Bragg increased is stop for future office, giving Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans everything they wanted. Calling everything a witch hunt and hoax has gotten old for the public, jaded with Trump’s many run-ins with the press and U.S. law. Whether admitted or not, the GOP must step up knowing, at least to some, the old Party icon is about go down in a blaze of glory. Trump was a refreshing experiment in 2016, trying something other than a career politician. Trump mesmerized the nation for a while until his many shenanigans caught up with him, culminating in today’s indictment. Whether he stays out of jail or not, voters on both sides of the aisle don’t want the drama of more legal scandals and media distraction.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma
