Sparing 76-year-old President Donald Trump the indignity of handcuffs-and-mug- shots, 49-year-old Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg hopes to show his compassionate side, arresting Trump without the kind of fanfare hoped by the Democrat-controlled media. When Trump is formerly arraigned tomorrow in Judge Juan Merchan’s courtroom, Bragg plans to upgrade all of Trump’s charges to Class E felonies, not something typical for whitecollar business crimes. Showing extreme prejudice against Trump, Bragg revealed for all to see why the case must be dismissed against the former president. Bragg and many of his Democrat backers said that no one should be above the law, referring to Trump getting a pass because he was president. But instead of assigning the charges appropriately as misdemeanors, Bragg decided to grandstand, throwing the book at Trump because he’s hated by Democrats.
What more evidence does Merhan need to know that the case of New York City against Donald J. Trump is a political hit job, the exact thing destroying the U.S. criminal justice system. Giving Trump a pass on mug shots and handcuffs doesn’t hide Bragg’s extreme prejudice against Trump. Unless Bragg changes his charges to misdemeanors like any other white-collar defendant, it will prove to Merchan’s court that Bragg went overboard in charging Trump. Democrats and the media will hail Bragg’s decision to slap Trump with 34 felonies but it also proves beyond a reasonable doubt that Bragg engaged in selective prosecution, all because his Democrat friends want to light Trump up with the worst possible charges. Merchan can’t let Bragg’s abortion of justice go on without appropriate sanctions, including tossing out the case. Falsification of business records is a misdemeanor in New York.
Under pressure from the Democrat Party, Bragg wanted to play hero, looking to eventually move up the latter in New York Democrat politics. Escalating Trump’s charges shows Bragg as an opportunistic amateur, overreaching to score more Brownie Points. Bragg insists that bumping up the charges was due to the fact that Trump tried to conceal another felony of paying hush money to silence Stormy Daniels AKA Stephanie Clifford to conceal an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. What possible reason would Bragg charge Trump with all Class E felonies, rather than follow normal New York State charging protocol? Unlike misdemeanors, Class E felonies could get jail time of up to four years per count, raising the stakes in the prosecution. “No one gets jail time for that as a first offense,” said an unnamed New York law enforcement official, puzzled by Bragg’s decision to charge felonies.
Coordinating with the Secret Service, Merchan’s courtroom at the main New York City Courthose will be the only one operating tomorrow when Trump enters his courtroom. Merchan was the judge that found Trump former CFO Allen Weisselberg guilty of tax fraud Jan. 10. Trump’s attorneys led by Joe Tacopina and Susan Niecheles want Trump’s venue changed, believing he can’t get a fair trial in Manhattan. Whether Merchan agrees to a change of venue is anyone’s guess. But reviewing Bragg’s filings, Merchan could change to charges to misdemeanors believing that Bragg;s prosecution team went overboard. “No one gets jail time for that as first offenses,” said an anonymous law enforcement source, referring to misdemeanor. Upping the charges shows Bragg’s extreme prejudice against Trump. Trump’s arraignment tomorrow should tell the whole story about Bragg’s charges.
Trump has been posting statements on his Truth Social platform that Bragg’s charges are a continuation of the witch hunt, something that plagued him during his four years in office. Trump was fingered by the CIA and FBI in his 2016 campaign and four years in office for being a Russian asset. FBI and CIA officials covertly investigated Trump for alleged ties to the Kremlin, all lies fabricated by former MI6 operative Christopher Steele who worked for the Hillary campaign. All of the FBI’s fake investigations into Trump’s 2016 campaign and Special Counsel Robert Muller’s 22-month, $40 million investigation, turned up nothing. How former FBI Director James Comey or Mueller let Hillary’s bogus opposition research guide their investigations showed extreme bias against Trump. No one in the FBI, CIA or any former Obama officials has been charged with fraud..
Tomorrow’s media circus at the New York courthouse should be condemned in the strongest possible way as political prosecution. Whether Trump or his real estate organization did anything wrong, Bragg could have handled it more discreetly. Democrats and the media are out for blood, all because they don’t want Trump running against Biden in 2024. Escalating Trump’s charges to 34 Class E felonies is all Judge Merchan needs to know about Bragg’s malicious prosecution. Merchan knows that Bragg’s star witness and much of his evidence comes from 56-year-old former Trump attorney turned saboteur, convicted felon Michael Cohen. Whatever evidence Bragg has, it’s highly impeachable based on Cohen’s history of lying and felony convictions. Bragg’s reliance on Cohen shows that he has no case at all against Trump, only a Democrat political hit job.
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.
