Donald Trump Fumes at Alvin Bragg’s Court Move

Embattled ex-president Donald Trump raged against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Sunday as his hush money trial gears up for closing arguments.

The Republican politician, who is currently campaigning against President Joe Biden to win a second shot at the White House in elections later this year, uploaded a string of posts on social media site Truth Social blasting the case against him. The first-ever criminal prosecution of a U.S. president has been underway for the past few weeks, but is now nearing its conclusion with closing arguments expected on Tuesday, meaning the jury could potentially give its verdict this week.

Bragg indicted Trump last year on 34 felony counts after he was accused of falsifying internal company records to hide alleged “hush money” payments to his lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, to help cover up allegations about his sexual relationship with porn star Stormy Daniels. The pay-out was made in 2016 as Trump was campaigning for the presidency, making it a separate crime, such as attempting to influence an election, prosecutors say. Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels and denies falsifying business records.

Trump’s legal team rested their case last Tuesday and the judge, Justice Juan Merchan, dismissed the jury for seven days, telling them to return on Tuesday for closing statements from both sides. They were not sequestered, which means they were sent home, and will enjoy the long Memorial Day weekend before returning to court.

Over on Truth Social this weekend, Trump’s outburst against Bragg saw him brand the high-profile lawyer as “corrupt” and complicit in “an Election Interfering Witch Hunt” orchestrated by the Biden administration. He also slammed the judge and blamed Bragg for the “DELAY of 7 days to his Corrupt and Unconstitutional Case against me, with no sequester.”

Newsweek has reached out by email to Bragg’s office seeking comment, although it was outside of usual office hours on the holiday weekend.

Trump’s attorney Alina Habba told Fox News on Sunday that she was concerned that the jury has been sent home for such a long wait, saying she fears they could be swayed by TV reports or friends and family over the Memorial Day weekend.

“They should have been sequestered,” she said. “Because, in my opinion, these jurors are handling something that is completely unprecedented and unwarranted in America and for them to be able to be out and about on a holiday weekend with friends and families who have opinions, who are watching the news, the TV is on the background at the pool party… I have serious concerns if they’re left wing and they’re watching MSDNC, as my client calls it, or CNN, they’re not going to get fair news,”

Later that day, Trump echoed her comments online in a lengthy rant.

“Can anyone believe that Soros backed D.A., Alvin Bragg, was able to get a DELAY of 7 days to his Corrupt and Unconstitutional Case against me, with no sequester?” he wrote. “Legal Expense = Legal Expense! The only thing Bragg has going for him is the Corrupt and highly Conflicted Judge – Which is a lot!!!”

In order to find Trump guilty of falsifying business documents, the jury must believe he did so as part of a separate crime. The judge ruled that the jurors do not have to agree what that crime actually was; it could be a tax crime, or a violation of state or federal election law. The outcome could see the jury return a guilty verdict, an innocent verdict, or a hung jury.

“The reason the Radical, highly Conflicted Judge Juan Merchan had to come up with three FAKE options for the jury to choose from, without requiring them to be unanimous, which is completely UNAMERICAN AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL, is because the Corrupt, Soros backed D.A., Alvin Bragg, couldn’t come close to proving that any crime was committed,” Trump said on Truth Social. “THERE WAS NO CRIME. Legal Expense paid to a lawyer was marked, by a bookkeeper using a dropdown menu in a computer program, as Legal Expense paid to a lawyer. WHAT ELSE COULD YOU CALL IT? There is NO CASE, just a Democrat Persecutor controlled by Crooked Joe Biden’s White House, a Democrat Judge, and a biased venue. This is nothing but an Election Interfering Witch Hunt, and the American People know it! MAGA2024. [Make America Great Again 2024]”

“In addition to the fact that I did nothing wrong, NDA’s [non-discolsure agreements] are totally legal and commonly used, and that virtually every legal Scholar and Expert says, in written form, that this is a case which has NO MERIT and should not have been brought, my lawyers have informed me that the highly Conflicted and Corrupt Judge, Juan Merchan, will not allow RELIANCE ON COUNSEL, which virtually everyone is allowed to use, as an additional, though not needed because I did NOTHING WRONG, Defense. This ‘Case,’ which could have been brought seven years ago but wasn’t because it has no merit, is a disgrace. It was only begun to interfere with Crooked Joe Biden’s Political Opponent, ME. RELIANCE ON COUNSEL. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Trump made similar claims on Truth Social on Friday, when he described the trial as a political “persecution.”

But other legal analysts suggested the case did not look good for Trump, while one expert commentator suggested Cohen’s testimony had made Trump look “most like a criminal.”