The Manhattan investigation into former President Donald Trump and the quest to find something to charge him with has taken nearly five years, and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg revived the efforts when he entered the office last year.
Bragg has faced dissent over the directions of Trump investigations and those views are being aired by his predecessor, Cyrus R. Vance, Jr. in the release of his new book.
Vance had started the tax investigation against Trump, and AP reported that Bragg had decided not to proceed immediately, citing concerns about the strength of the case.
Pressure to bring the case to court prompted Bragg to move forward and last year he won the tax case against a Trump company.
Bragg has now convened a new grand jury last week in a continuation of the quest to find charges against former President Trump. AP reported that the latest probe focuses on payments Trump allegedly made to two women in 2016, and there are rumors that an arrest will happen on Tuesday.
According to Fox News, a court source reported that a meeting was requested on Thursday but has yet to be scheduled. According to the source familiar with the planning, the purpose of the meeting is to “discuss logistics for some time next week, which would mean that they are anticipating an indictment next week.”
In response to the news, a spokesperson for Trump, Steven Cheung, issued a statement to Fox News Digital criticizing District Attorney Alvin Bragg, calling his investigation a “witch hunt” and alleging that Bragg was under the influence of President Biden and “radical Democrats.”
“President Donald J. Trump is completely innocent, he did nothing wrong, and even the biggest, most Radical Left Democrats are making that clear,” Cheung said.
“From Russia, Russia, Russia, to the Mueller Hoax, to Impeachment Hoaxes 1 and 2, and even the Unlawful Mar-a-Lago Raid, Democrats have investigated and attacked President Trump since before he was elected – and they’ve failed every time.”
Meeting the accusations head-on, the former president responded to the rumors of his arrest and is furious. He posted on his TruthSocial platform calling for conservatives to object to another “witch hunt”.
“NOW ILLEGAL LEAKS FROM A CORRUPT & HIGHLY POLITICAL MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEYS OFFICE, WHICH HAS ALLOWED NEW RECORDS TO BE SET IN VIOLENT CRIME & WHOSE LEADER IS FUNDED BY GEORGE SOROS, INDICATE THAT, WITH NO CRIME BEING ABLE TO BE PROVEN, & BASED ON AN OLD & FULLY DEBUNKED (BY NUMEROUS OTHER PROSECUTORS!) FAIRYTALE, THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” he said.
Taking the words “protest” to mean the need for law enforcement, several law enforcement agencies are reportedly preparing for a potential indictment of former President Donald Trump as the Manhattan district attorney’s office “asked for a meeting” with those agencies.
Now, an email leaked from Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s office shows what is on his mind.
“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 district attorney said in a memo to staff Politico reported.
Here is the full email from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to his employees, saying he will not tolerate intimidation after Trump called for protest. Story here: https://t.co/e6fuuYAKpV pic.twitter.com/8X3thHpwmy
— erica orden (@eorden) March 19, 2023
He said that “as with all of our investigations, we will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, and speak publicly only when appropriate.” He did not mention the former president’s name but referenced “public comments surrounding an ongoing investigation by this office.”
In an eerie reprise of those protesting the 2020 election peacefully, it seems the DA’s office is getting ready to imply that anyone exercising their right to protest an unjust arrest peacefully will be a criminal problem rather than an American exercising their right to free speech.
Conservative Brief points out that an interesting situation in the entire episode might be that if former President Trump decided to fight extradition from Florida to New York. In that case, ultimately the person who would have to sign the papers that allow him to be extradited would be Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has not announced his candidacy for President of the United States but who has been polling neck and neck with Trump, Conservative Brief pointed out.
But there is no legal way for Gov. DeSantis to stop the extradition of the former president, Insider reported.
“The indictment and the charges are not going to go away,” Florida attorney Tamara Holder said to Insider. “This is an early stage of a criminal proceeding, and it’s very important that you present yourself to the court early on as somebody who’s going to fight the case and not fight the extradition.”
“The governor doesn’t have the power to stop an extradition,” she said. “The governor’s only involvement is to look at the papers and make sure that the papers are proper to issue the warrant.”
