This is a developing story, and it will be updated throughout the day.
There have been reports swirling the last couple of days that Donald Trump will be charged and arrested next week by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office on charges relating to payments to Stormy Daniels. The exact nature of the charges and the basis is not known yet, but based on prior leaks to the media, it appears that Bragg has come up with a novel theory that an otherwise lawful payment becomes criminal if it is accounted for incorrectly, a so-called falsifying business records offense. Even the NY Times noted this is highly unusual:
In New York, falsifying business records can amount to a crime, albeit a misdemeanor. To elevate the crime to a felony charge, Mr. Bragg’s prosecutors must show that Mr. Trump’s “intent to defraud” included an intent to commit or conceal a second crime.In this case, that second crime could be a violation of New York State election law. While hush money is not inherently illegal, the prosecutors could argue that the $130,000 payout effectively became an improper donation to Mr. Trump’s campaign, under the theory that because the money silenced Ms. Daniels, it benefited his candidacy.Combining the criminal charge with a violation of state election law would be a novel legal theory for any criminal case, let alone one against the former president, raising the possibility that a judge or appellate court could throw it out or reduce the felony charge to a misdemeanor.
Alvin Bragg is a deeply destructive D.A elected with the help of a Soros-funded political PAC:
Former NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton said Sunday that Manhattan’s new district attorney Alvin Bragg is “handcuffing the police” and blamed his election on George Soros, claiming the billionaire has “effectively destroyed the criminal justice system in America.” …Bragg, a Democratic, kept to his campaign promise during his first week in office and told his staff to only seek prison time for those who commit the most severe crimes….Bratton then cited the $1 million donation that Hungarian-born philanthropist Soros gave to the Color of Change political action committee, which supported Bragg.“If you look at every city in America that has violent crime increases and disorder increases…what is the one common denominator?” Bratton said. “District attorneys, almost all of whom are funded phenomenally by George Soros.”
Fox News reported yesterday on preparations for the arrest:
The Manhattan District Attorney’s office has asked for a meeting with law enforcement ahead of a possible indictment of former President Donald Trump next week, according to a court source.According to the source, the meeting was requested Thursday and hasn’t been set. The meeting is to “discuss logistics for some time next week, which would mean that they are anticipating an indictment next week,” the source familiar with the planning said.
There apparently is going to be a perp walk:
Trump posted on Truth Social that he will be arrested Tuesday, and he is calling for protests:
OUR NATION IS NOW THIRD WORLD & DYING. THE AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD! THE RADICAL LEFT ANARCHISTS HAVE STOLLEN OUR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, AND WITH IT, THE HEART OF OUR OUR COUNTRY. AMERICAN PATRIOTS ARE BEING ARRESTED & HELD IN CAPTIVITY LIKE ANIMALS, WHILE CRIMINALS & LEFTIST THUGS ARE ALLOWED TO ROAM THE STREETS, KILLING & BURNING WITH NO RETRIBUTION. MILLIONS ARE FLOODING THROUGH OUR OPEN BOARDERS, MANY FROM PRISONS & MENTAL INSTITUTIONS. CRIME & INFLATION ARE DESTROYING OUR VERY WAY OF LIFE…Page 2: NOW ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!
By all appearances at this time, this is just another corruption of the prosecutorial powers that Democrats have unleashed against a political opponent. We’ve seen it from the NY State Attorney General who ran on a platform of getting Trump and his family, and the local Atlanta prosecutor running a grand jury to get Trump. No one would be prosecuted for the charges under investigation if it were not Donald Trump.
The charges, if not more substantial than described so far, are a fraudulent abuse of power aimed at manipulating the political process as we enter a presidential election cycle. Make no mistake, this has happened before and cost Republicans politically, including the fraudulent prosecution of then Senator Ted Stevens, which was overturned due to prosecutorial misconduct but not before Stevens resigned setting in motion events that gave Democrats the votes they needed to pass Obamacare.
The abuse of prosecutorial power by Democrats will, to paraphrase Chuck Schumer’s attack on the Supreme Court, unleash the whirlwind. We just don’t know in which direction it will hit. I think there are several things going on here, including Democrats hope for violence that will allow a J6 crackdown on Trump supporters more far-reaching than the prosecution of people for “parading” because they peacefully attended a protest where others committed violence. I also think that keeping the Trump prosecution (with more to come) front and center as he (likely) leads the Republican primaries is a political strategy—it’s no wonder the charges are coming now.
Mike Pence responds (via Breitbart):
“Like many Americans, I’m just, I’m taken aback. You have a major crime wave in New York, especially in New York City. You have literally a Democratic Party that’s literally dismantled the criminal justice system in that city, undercut the NYPD, and this is what the Manhattan DA says is their top priority,” Pence said, lambasting the district attorney’s office for focusing on non-issues as crime runs amok.
“It reeks of the kind of political prosecution that that we endured back in the days of the Russia hoax and the whole impeachment over a phone call. And one thing I know is — I know that former President Trump can take care of himself,” Pence said, emphasizing that these witch hunts are “not what people are focused on.”
Lindsey Graham responds (via Fox News):
“The prosecutor in New York has done more to help Donald Trump get elected president than any single person in America today,” said Graham, speaking from Charleston, South Carolina, at the Palmetto Family Council’s Vision ’24 Forum, a prominent conservative Christian event.In New York City, “you’re lucky if you don’t get mugged on the way to where you’re going. Is this really the most important thing going on in Manhattan?” Graham questioned. “I think this is an effort that’s ongoing, never ending to destroy Donald Trump, everything around Donald Trump.”. . . . “They’re making stuff up that they’ve never used against anybody because they hate Trump. That’s what this is. They’re brewing a legal cocktail, to try to come up with some bizarre theory,” Graham said. “The law never used by anybody in New York, just because they hate Trump. You know why they’re doing this? Because they’re afraid of Trump. That’s why they’re doing it.”Graham referred to the targeting of Trump as “selective prosecution” and said that if he were Trump, he would “take this all the way to the damn Supreme Court.”
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