It now looks that a New York City prosecutor who received much criticism for not indicting Donald Trump last year is extremely likely to file the first criminal complaint against an ex-president in American history.
Trump stated on Saturday that he anticipates being detained this week on charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who is looking into whether Trump fabricated financial records by hiding his payment to Stormy Daniels’ real name, Stephanie Clifford, porn star Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 payment Cohen made to the latter.
The payment, which was paid in the final weeks of Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, was made to keep Daniels silent about an alleged affair she had with Trump, according to the prosecution. On Saturday, a Bragg spokeswoman declined to comment.
Trump urged his fans to protest on his Truth Social platform and stated that he anticipated being detained on Tuesday.
Trump, who is seeking the Republican nominee for president in 2024, did not mention that he had been officially warned of impending charges, and he did not address them in the tweet.
On January 6, 2021, following a furious speech in which he falsely claimed his election loss was the result of widespread fraud, thousands of Trump followers stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Democratic candidate Bragg gained office in January 2022 following the indictment of the former president’s family business and its top financial executive for a 15-year tax fraud conspiracy by his predecessor.
Mark Pomerantz, the prosecutor in charge of that investigation, quit in February 2022 after Bragg decided not to prosecute Trump with any financial crimes. Pomerantz wrote a book about the inquiry and openly attacked Bragg’s choice not to press charges.
According to Pomerantz, worries about perhaps losing the case should be balanced against the risk of “promot[ing] disdain for the law” by withholding charges when appropriate.
Trump referred to the investigation as a “witch hunt.”
This year, a grand jury started hearing testimony in the case.
Cohen previously testified that Trump gave him the go-ahead to set up the payment, and Cohen entered a guilty plea to campaign finance violations and other crimes in December 2018.
Trump’s attorney Susan Necheles stated on March 10, 2024, that it would be unusual and outrageous selective prosecution for the DA’s office to prosecute former President Trump, a victim of extortion, with a felony because his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, a convicted liar, paid the extortionist.
One of Bragg’s biggest obstacles may be proving Trump meant to conduct a crime, said Jennifer Beidel, a partner at the law firm Saul Ewing and a former federal prosecutor.
According to Beidel, one would assume that the previous president would make an effort to show that those who were not under his control were making their decisions, maybe intending to please him.
Once a federal prosecutor and a top officer in the New York State Attorney General’s office, Bragg was the first Black district attorney in Manhattan. While there, he handled litigation that resulted in the dissolution of the former president’s charity organisation.
Immediately after he took office, his detractors protested to a proposal to minimise pretrial detention, restrict sentence length, and stop pursuing some minor charges. According to Bragg, “over-incarceration” hasn’t led to an increase in public safety.
The Trump Organization was found guilty of tax fraud in December, marking his office’s largest trial triumph to date. Former chief financial officer of the corporation Allen Weisselberg had admitted guilt and testified against the business in court.
In response to Pomerantz’s critique, Bragg has received support from several onlookers.
