George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley said that the judge presiding over former President Donald Trump’s trial may have committed a “reversible error” by allowing prosecutors to make certain arguments.
Trump’s trial stemming from an indictment secured by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on March 30, 2023, in a case centered around a $130,000 payout to porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, started April 15. Turley said that New York Judge Juan Merchan may have erred by allowing Bragg’s team of prosecutors, led by former Biden administration official Michael Colangelo, who served as acting associate attorney general, to claim Trump was involved in violating federal election laws. (RELATED: Fox Legal Analyst Says Trump Prosecutors Doing ‘Exactly What Led To The Reversal’ Of Weinstein Conviction)
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“I got to tell you, I think this judge may have already committed reversible error,” Turley told “Fox and Friends” co-host Ainsley Earhardt. “He could try to amend it, he could try to change it in his instructions, but that jury has now been told repeatedly that there are federal election crimes here, strongly suggesting that the payment to Stormy Daniels did violate federal election laws. That’s just not true.”
The New York Court of Appeals ruled in a 4-3 decision Thursday that the “erroneously admitted” testimony about unrelated incidents and other actions by the judge presiding over the rape trial of disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein were “egregious errors” that required a new trial.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 25: Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court during his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 25, 2024 in New York City. Former U.S. President Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial. (Photo by Mark Peterson-Pool/Getty Images)
Turley also previewed testimony from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who is expected to be a star witness for the prosecution, earlier in his appearance.
“Michael Cohen is literally going to tell that jury, ‘Please send my client to jail for following my legal advice,’” Turley said. “All of the stuff that they are talking about, he set up, he structured this and told his client that, ‘we could do this.’”
“It’s a bizarre moment,” Turley added.
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