Fox News legal analyst Greg Jarrett on Thursday alleged Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is disregarding the law to convict former President Donald Trump of a crime.
Trump’s trial for allegedly falsifying business records pertaining to hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels will commence with jury selection on Monday, Judge Juan Merchan decided. What Trump allegedly did does not constitute a criminal act and Bragg is bringing the case to get a conviction rather than on its merits, Jarrett asserted on “Fox & Friends.” (RELATED: ‘Get Bad Convictions’: Alan Dershowitz Outlines Dems’ Strategy With Trump Indictments)
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“Some of the allegations and evidence against him in the New York case took place while he was president,” Jarrett told host Brian Kilmeade. “Why not wait until the high court decides that issue? Oral arguments are in just a couple weeks. But there is a rush to convict Trump in advance of the election.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 25: Former U.S. President Donald Trump makes comments following a pre-trial hearing in a hash money case in criminal court on March 25, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Curtis Means-Pool/Getty Images)
“Paying somebody for silence is not a crime,” Jarrett added. “So, you know, instead, the DA, Alvin Bragg, accuses Trump of falsely accounting for it. At best, that’s a mere misdemeanor as you point out. That was barred long ago by the statute of limitations so Bragg is trying to circumvent that by twisting the law and claiming, ‘oh, it’s an illegal campaign donation and, thus, a felony.’ No, it’s not. Federal Election Commission concluded it doesn’t qualify as a campaign expenditure. The Department of Justice said, ‘hey, there’s no crime here.’ Alvin Bragg doesn’t care.”
Trump was indicted in April 2023 on 34 counts of falsifying documents, but the charges are nearly unprecedented, The New York Times reported Tuesday. Manhattan has only brought two other felony cases against defendants for falsifying business records without another crime.
President Trump and Michael Cohen (LEFT: MANAN VATSYAYANA/AFP/Getty Images RIGHT: Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“These indictments all have one common denominator, Brian,” Jarrett asserted. “They’re politically driven. And Americans see this for what it is. An abuse of our legal system meant to interfere in the presidential election. Polls show it’s backfiring. Only solidifying Trump’s support and voters see him really as a villain, not as a villain, rather, but as a victim of unscrupulous political enemies who are weaponizing the law. So, you know, we’ll have to wait and see how it turns out.”
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