‘I see dead people’ — Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump goes paranormal

“I see dead people.” Until this week, the claim was most commonly associated with Cole Sear, the 9-year-old character from the 1999 film “The Sixth Sense.” But now it’s one of the talents that former adult film actress Stormy Daniels claimed in bizarre testimony she gave in Manhattan during former President Donald Trump’s trial.

It turns out that speaking to the dead was one of Daniels’ few suggestions related to the case. The case is now facing a not-guilty plea before it goes to a jury.

Daniels’ testimony will go down in criminal justice history. For two days, she provided ridiculous and completely irrelevant details whose only purpose was to humiliate Trump. She acknowledged that she was coached by prosecutors in her testimony, but it was clear she was there to win the election, not the case. Judge Juan Melchan allowed this legal burlesque to unfold in his courtroom, later criticizing the defense attorney who vocally objected to her appearance and the scope of her questioning.

The cross-examination was harrowing. This shot down her ridiculous claim that she didn’t really want the money to tie President Trump to a non-disclosure agreement, although her own former lawyer disputed this claim. Daniels also revealed that she had conversations with the dead and that a ghost once trapped her boyfriend under water in a bathtub. She also lived in a haunted house, but she said she later learned that the spirit haunting her house was actually a large possum.

In a case based on a rapid drop in heart rate due to the deceased’s misdemeanor and trumped-up felonies, the appeal of the witness representing the deceased is understandable. Indeed, Daniels’ graphic testimony may prove the ethical high point of the trial, as serial perjurer and disbarred attorney Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify Monday.

Cohen recently broke his promise midway through the trial to stop attacking and mocking Trump. Cohen argued that despite serious constitutional concerns, he deserved the protection of Judge Marchand’s gag order as a witness. Mr. Marchan continues to threaten Mr. Trump with jail if he responds to Mr. Cohen’s relentless attacks. Marchan waited until the weekend to testify and suggested that prosecutors instruct Cohen to stop his public antics.

But it remains unclear what the order protects Cohen from. Not only has he been trolling on social media in connection with the trial, asking for money, but he has also been widely attacked by others. Trump is the only one unable to deal with attacks involving political opposition to his own campaign.

Cohen’s testimony will be the culmination of this farce. But Bragg has already jumped the shark with Daniels. Three weeks later, legal experts are still debating what crimes President Trump was trying to cover up by counting standard non-disclosure payments as legal costs. (This is the same characterization used by the Hillary Clinton campaign to fund the infamous Steele dossier.)

It’s still unclear whether President Trump even knew about the nature of the payments, and the false records weren’t created until after the election. However, he is accused of using “false business records” to somehow steal or rig the already-concluded election.

Once this circus with Cohen is over, Trump will be allowed to testify. He would be insane to do something like that. Mr Marchand has already said he will allow extensive cross-examination and is unlikely to appear in court.

Machan then faces an important test of judicial ethics. He failed to protect the rights of defendants from baseless and politically motivated prosecutions. He could have argued that Bragg simply felt entitled to make his case. He will be finishing it soon, and as expected, it will be based entirely on Cohen. Cohen is a disbarred perjurer who demands that his former client be sent to prison for following his own legal advice.

After Bragg concludes the prosecution’s case, the defense plans to file a standard motion to dismiss. Mr. Machan should grant the motion.

There is no indication of an actual crime, much less a clear record linking President Trump to any significant decisions or actions.

Machan must then decide whether he has the courage that Bragg lacked.bragg I knew this incident was ridiculous.. The Justice Department has declined to prosecute any federal campaign finance violations, a theory cited in the case. In fact, it did not even seek a civil penalty for the payment. Mr. Bragg’s predecessor had also declined to prosecute.

When Mr. Bragg took over, he was similarly hesitant and stopped moving toward prosecution. But then two prosecutors in his office, Carrie R. Dunn and Mark F. Pomerantz, resigned and began a public pressure campaign to get New Yorkers to demand prosecution.

Pomerantz went further and did something that some of us would consider highly unethical and unprofessional. Over the objections of his former office and colleagues, he published a book about the case against Trump, which was still under investigation at the time and had not been found guilty or even indicted. It was a pressure campaign directed at Bragg. In New York, Mr. Bragg knew he would have to indict Mr. Trump or forget about reelection.

Martian will now have to make the same choice: politics, principles, or surrender to the supernatural. He has already authorized all efforts to bring this dead petty crime back to life. But even Stormy Daniels may not be able to function as a medium for Merchan, who goes back eight years.

Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University School of Law..