Former President Donald Trump is ramping up his attacks against the Manhattan district attorney’s office, warning officials that an indictment against him would result in “potential death and destruction.”
As Trump faces looming charges in the hush money case, the former president has maintained his innocence by seeking to flip the script that the trial is politically motivated and founded on baseless claims. Trump specifically hit out against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, calling him a “degenerate psychopath” who “[truly] hates the USA.”
HOUSE GOP EXPANDS INVESTIGATION INTO MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY AHEAD OF EXPECTED TRUMP INDICTMENT
“What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post overnight.
Trump’s latest attacks come as the Manhattan grand jury was dismissed earlier this week without holding a vote on whether to indict him, pushing the decision until further notice. The case had received increased attention throughout the week after Trump posted over the weekend that he expected to be arrested on Tuesday, urging his supporters to protest and “take our nation back.”
If pressed with charges, it would mark the first time a former president has been indicted in U.S. history. It’s not yet clear what charges Trump may face, but reports of a possible indictment emerged earlier this month after his former attorney Michael Cohen testified before the Manhattan grand jury.
Cohen was convicted in 2018 after pleading guilty to paying two women who accused Trump of sexual affairs to be silent, including Stormy Daniels. As part of the scheme, Cohen paid Daniels $130,000 and was later reimbursed by the Trump Organization.
Manhattan prosecutors later opened an investigation into whether Trump falsified business records to list the reimbursement as a legal expense. Such a crime is a misdemeanor in New York but could be increased to a felony if Bragg’s office argues the fraud was intended to conceal a second crime.
At the time of Cohen’s trial, federal prosecutors did not press charges against Trump due to guidance from the Justice Department that a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime. However, prosecutors revived discussions about possible charges shortly before Trump left office in 2021.
GOP lawmakers were quick to decry Trump’s possible arrest, denouncing it as being a political attack ahead of a crucial election cycle. House Republicans announced this week they would be opening investigations into Bragg and his conduct, writing a letter to the district attorney to request his testimony.
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Bragg issued a scathing response to the lawmakers, denouncing the “unprecedented” request into a pending investigation.
“The Letter only came after Donald Trump created a false expectation that he would be arrested the next day and his lawyers reportedly urged you to intervene,” Bragg wrote. “Neither fact is a legitimate basis for congressional inquiry.”
