Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy McCarthy said on Tuesday that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is attempting to “spin” former President Donald Trump’s legal actions into a “criminal conspiracy.”
Trump arrived in court for the second day of the trial regarding the 34-count indictment accusing him of falsifying business records to cover up an alleged $130,000 payment to former porn actress Stormy Daniels. The alleged payment made by Trump’s former attorney Michael Cohen was intended to keep Daniels from disclosing an alleged extramarital between her and Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
McCarthy refuted the prosecution’s accusations that Trump attempted to commit conspiracy during the 2016 election by arguing it is legal to cover up “politically embarrassing” information, including alleged extramarital affairs.
“It’s not hard for prosecutors to develop a lot of evidence of legal conduct because even if people are a little embarrassed about some of the things they’ve done because they’re unsavory, if the conduct is legal, you can get in more trouble by covering it up than you can by fessing up to it,” McCarthy said Tuesday on Fox News’ “America Reports.” “So it’s really not hard to assemble that kind of information. Bragg’s got a ton of that. The problem Bragg has is he is trying to spin that into something that isn’t a crime and that the indictment doesn’t charge.
“What he’s saying is that Trump conspired to steal the 2016 election by suppressing politically damaging information. To commit conspiracy, you need two or more people to agree to commit a crime. It’s not a statutory crime to suppress politically embarrassing information. It’s kind of political campaigns do,” McCarthy added.
McCarthy argued it will be “politically consequential” if Trump does not testify during the trial, and should rely on the “weakness” of the case brought against him. (RELATED: ‘This Is Embarrassing’: Turley Says He Is In ‘Utter Disbelief’ Over Bragg Trial Opening Statements)
The case’s lead prosecutor, Michael Colangelo, said during his opening statement Monday that Trump formulated a “long-running conspiracy” to interfere in the 2016 election, according to The Associated Press.
“The defendant, Donald Trump, orchestrated a criminal scheme to corrupt the 2016 presidential election. Then he covered up that criminal conspiracy by lying in his New York business records over and over and over again,” Colangelo reportedly said.
The former president’s defense attorney, Todd Blanche, argued Bragg should never have brought the case against his “innocent” client, according to The Associated Press.
“President Trump is innocent. President Trump did not commit any crimes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office should never have brought this case,” Todd Blanche reportedly said.
Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts of the indictment during an Apr. 4, 2023, hearing and has denied ever having an extramarital affair with Daniels.