Donald Trump on Saturday touched off a firestorm by revealing his belief that he was about to be indicted and arrested at the behest of the Manhattan D.A’s office.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy reacted to news about the imminent indictment and arrest by calling it an “outrageous abuse of power” and he announced that he is launching an investigation.
“Here we go again — an outrageous abuse of power by a radical DA who lets violent criminals walk as he pursues political vengeance against President Trump,” McCarthy said. “I’m directing relevant committees to immediately investigate if federal funds are being used to subvert our democracy by interfering in elections with politically motivated prosecutions.”
On Saturday night, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent out an email to members of his office condemning “attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law.” The email was reported by Breanna Morello.
“Please know that your safety is our top priority,” Bragg’s email read in part. “We have full confidence in our outstanding security staff and investigators, along with our great OCA and NYPD colleagues, and will continue to coordinate with all of them. We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York.”
“Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated and that the proper safeguards are in place so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment,” the email continued.
“This office is full of the finest public servants in the country,” the message added. “I am committed to maintaining a safe work environment where everyone is able to continue to serve the public with the same diligence and professionalism that make this institution so renowned. In the meantime, as with all of our investigations, We will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, and speak publicly only when appropriate.”
Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg was elected in November 2021 with indirect backing from left-wing billionaire George Soros, who gave $1 million to the Color of Change PAC, which spent it to elect Bragg.
Fox News reported that Soros has “funneled $40 million dollars into district attorney campaigns nationwide,” including Bragg’s.
Former New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton spoke out against the “$1 million donation that Hungarian-born philanthropist Soros gave to the Color of Change political action committee, which supported Bragg,” the New York Post reported.
“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.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is expected to bring felony charges against Trump next week related to payments made in 2016 to settle rumors of an extramarital affair. Bragg upgraded the charges from a misdemeanor class, which stands in sharp contrast to the prosecutor’s history of reducing charges in the majority of his cases.
Since taking office last year, DA Bragg has downgraded approximately 52 percent of all cases brought before his office. Many of these cases involved reducing felony charges to misdemeanors. Under Bragg’s predecessor, less than 40 percent of cases were downgraded.
Constitutional attorney Jonathan Turley is among critics of the Trump prosecution that believes the charges against him are “short on the law.”
“Although it may be politically popular, the case is legally pathetic,” Turley argued. “Bragg is struggling to twist state laws to effectively prosecute a federal case long ago rejected by the Justice Department against Trump over his payment of ‘hush money’ to former stripper Stormy Daniels. In 2018 (yes, that is how long this theory has been around), I wrote how difficult such a federal case would be under existing election laws. Now, six years later, the same theory may be shoehorned into a state claim.”
“It is extremely difficult to show that paying money to cover up an embarrassing affair was done for election purposes as opposed to an array of obvious other reasons, from protecting a celebrity’s reputation to preserving a marriage,” he continued. “That was demonstrated by the failed federal prosecution of former presidential candidate John Edwards on a much stronger charge of using campaign funds to cover up an affair.”
“In this case, Trump reportedly paid Daniels $130,000 in the fall of 2016 to cut off or at least reduce any public scandal,” he added. “The Southern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney’s office had no love lost for Trump, pursuing him and his associates in myriad investigations, but it ultimately rejected a prosecution based on the election law violations. It was not alone: The Federal Election Commission (FEC) chair also expressed doubts about the theory.”
The Trump arrest may be the event Democrats are looking for to incite backlash that triggers further infringement on Americans’ rights.
Follow Kyle Becker on Twitter @kylenabecker.