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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Theater of the Absurd enters its third week with still no evidence of crimes committed by defendants.
Playwright Samuel Beckett would be proud. Trump’s hush money trial is like “Waiting for Godot,” a chaotic, nonsensical absurdist novel. Of course, the titular Godot never arrives. This is an apt metaphor for Mr. Bragg’s case against Donald Trump. Jurors may be waiting in vain for criminal offenses that don’t actually exist in the law.
All of this results in a trial investigating a fictitious crime.
President Trump accuses Manhattan judge of “fraud” in 2024 election after gag order ruling: “election interference”
But the district attorney doesn’t seem to care at all that his charges are variable, ill-defined, fantastical, or simply non-existent. Instead, he persuaded jurors that Trump should be convicted for his work with such nefarious people as former lawyer and convicted perjurer Michael Cohen and former porn star Stormy Daniels. devised a dramatic legal fable intended to
stormy daniels (Philip Farawan/Getty Images)
On Tuesday, Mr. Cohen’s banker, Gary Faro, testified that Mr. Cohen’s client seemed concerned about setting up a shell company to transfer $130,000 to Mr. Daniels, leading to another round of fraud. The fantasy of the act attracted attention. But the shell company is completely legal, and there is no evidence that President Trump knew about it. David Pecker, a former publisher of the National Enquirer who was a key witness last week, said Mr. Cohen acted entirely on his own, without the knowledge of his superiors.
Mr. Bragg’s courtroom smear campaign against Mr. Trump continued with prosecution witness Keith Davidson, Mr. Daniels’ Los Angeles lawyer, and Karen McDougal, a Playboy playmate who allegedly had an affair with Mr. Trump. Ta. Davidson negotiated so-called “hush money” payments for both clients, which were perfectly legal. Paying for silence in exchange for a non-disclosure agreement is not a crime. In fact, this is a staple of the thousands of settlement agreements signed every day.
Live updates: New York v. Trump trial enters third week as judge fines Trump for violating gag order
As I stated in a previous column, the DA’s inclusion of McDougall in the trial is unfair, irrelevant, and prejudicial. why? This is because President Trump refused the extortion-like demands for money. He never lent a penny. Her name does not appear anywhere in her indictment, and Mr. Trump has not committed any crimes in connection with her. However, that did not stop Bragg from presenting otherwise inadmissible evidence to defame the defendants.
Prosecutors also used McDougal Daniel’s imbroglio to backdoor prominent mention in court of the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape that turned out to be damaging to Trump in the weeks before the 2016 election. I abused it. Such evidence should never be allowed, as its prejudicial effect on the jury far outweighs its poor probative value. it doesn’t matter. That’s exactly what Mr. Bragg wants.
NY vs. Trump: Cross-examination of Da Bragg’s first witness reveals important truths
The district attorney’s strategy is to smear the defendant with sordid stories and create a false impression in the minds of the jury. In a normal court with an impartial judge, it would be removed without discussion. But everything is allowed in Bragg’s Kabuki theater, and every prosecutorial deception is a Trump chimera. He must be a bad person, don’t you know, because he was associated with scandalous people?
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks at a press conference on Thursday, March 7, 2024 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
It doesn’t matter to Mr. Bragg that Mr. Trump committed none of the crimes alleged in his opening statement or that his guilty verdict will inevitably be overturned on appeal. He doesn’t care about the damage his worthless lawsuit does to the legal system. The goal of the DA’s office is to smear the presumptive Republican presidential candidate and unfairly influence the upcoming election. This is a politically motivated prosecution and a shameful abuse of the rule of law.
NY V Trump: Judge ‘unfortunately’ regrets not being able to impose greater fine on 45th president in gag order ruling
An honest, knowledgeable, and intelligent judge would have thrown out the case long ago. Instead, it was given to Juan Mercian. His obvious bias against Trump is only surpassed by his seeming incompetence.
For evidence of this, look no further than the unconstitutional gag order that prohibited President Trump from commenting on witnesses like Cohen and Daniels. They are They are not gagged and have freely criticized Trump in public while profiting financially from the hate they spew on a regular basis. But as Trump runs for president, he is being gagged to answer to defend himself in the court of public opinion.
At the end of Tuesday’s hearing, Marchand fined the defendants $9,000 for simply reposting comments that others had already said or written publicly. This is the maximum amount that can be imposed under contempt charges, and is just “pocket change” for billionaires. But the judge later threatened to jail Trump if he violated the illegal gag order again. That won’t happen, because even merchants aren’t that stupid. If you think about it…
Make no mistake: Marchand’s poorly worded, vague, and semi-illiterate orders to silence President Trump are a priori restraints on free speech, which is protected by the First Amendment. . There are no exceptions in the Bill of Rights for defendants in criminal trials. But ignorant judges like Machan are so arrogant and arrogant that they often shred constitutional rights with lawless gag orders. They are bullies who know that by the time an appeal is successful, the trial is over and the arguments are invalid. So they go through with it, but it only emboldens them.
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It should be pointed out that Mr. Machan is an “acting” judge, a nice term for a jurist who seems completely unqualified to preside over the trial of a former U.S. president. Oh…and he just so happens to be the same judge who presided over the case. two Other Trump incidents. Is it a coincidence? Not likely. What are the odds? Given that there are over 100 judges in New York City, common sense and the law of averages make this highly unlikely.
Bragg went “judge shopping” and got what he wanted.
A month ago, I wrote that Mr. Machan needed to step down. His adult daughter has a financial interest in her father’s case, which creates a disqualifying conflict of interest for the judge. As a political activist, her prominent consulting firm made millions of dollars through her solicitation emails citing the Trump trial presided over by her father.
Mr. Marchan’s resignation is mandatory, not voluntary, pursuant to New York State Code of Regulations, 22 NYCRR 100.3 (E). Apart from this, even improper conduct arising from a perceived conflict is sufficient for disqualification under the Judicial Conduct Rules. However, Machan ignored ethics rules and refused to leave despite repeated pleas from the defense. To make matters worse, the judge forbade President Trump from even mentioning his daughter and his financial interest in the case.
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The jury may not realize it, but the fix has begun. Trump is being prosecuted by unscrupulous prosecutors who campaigned on a promise to target the former president. Prosecutors are aided and abetted by hopelessly biased judges who seem determined to help convict people despite the lesser crimes committed.
Alvin Bragg’s Theater of the Absurd is an affront to the principles of justice that Americans hold dear.
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