According to The Hill, ex-New York Governor Andrew Cuomo (D) accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg of pursuing a politically motivated case against former President Donald Trump.
Bragg brought 34 felony charges for falsifying business records against Trump last year, alleging that he attempted to cover up a hush-money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels, who alleged an affair with him.
Despite pleading not guilty and refuting Daniels’ claims, Trump was convicted on all counts by a Manhattan jury in May.
‘You want to talk about a threat to democracy.’
During a Friday appearance on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher,” the disgraced former governor said, “If his name was not Donald Trump and if he wasn’t running for president … I’m the former AG of in New York, [and] I’m telling you that case would’ve never been brought.”
“That’s what is offensive to people, and it should be because if there’s anything left, it’s belief in the justice system,” Cuomo remarked.
“And you want to talk about a threat to democracy: When you have this country believing you’re playing politics with the justice system and you’re trying to put people in jail or convict them for political reasons, then we have a real problem,” he added.
Trump’s legal team plans to file an appeal. His attorney Todd Blanche explained that they had expected the guilty verdict.
“We didn’t think we were gonna get a fair shake in Manhattan, and we didn’t,” Blanche stated.
The prosecution team for Bragg has recently asked for an extension of the gag order against Trump, citing 61 purported threats made by others against Bragg, his family, or employees.
The new filing, signed by Assistant District Attorney Matthew Colangelo, stated that nothing stops Trump from “broadly criticizing the verdict, the criminal proceeding, the District Attorney, this court and more — and indeed, defendant has engaged in a flood of such criticisms both during the trial and after the guilty verdict.”
Prosecutors accused Trump of making “categorically false accusations,” including that Bragg and his team are attempting to “restrict the defendant’s speech at an upcoming presidential debate.” The filing stated that Trump’s claim has “no factual basis” and is “a lie,” NBC News reported.
“These knowing falsehoods are just the latest examples of defendant’s patent disrespect for the rule of law and the impartial administration of justice,” Bragg’s team wrote. “As defendant’s continued conduct makes clear, the need to protect participants in this criminal proceeding and the integrity of the criminal justice process from defendant’s attacks remains critically important.”
Before joining Bragg’s office in December 2022, Colangelo held a senior position at the Department of Justice under the Biden administration.
This move was perceived as a demotion from his previous role.
A few months ago, House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland expressing concern that Colangelo’s appointment to Bragg’s office could be seen as the Justice Department supporting the “politicized prosecution” of Trump by the DA.
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1 Comment
“Bragg and his team are attempting to “restrict the defendant’s speech at an upcoming presidential debate.” Anyone with half a brain knows this is what they are trying to do. That is if Marchand doesn’t jail or put Trump in home arrest 4 days before the RNC convention.