There’s a big difference between prosecution and persecution.
The 34-count indictment against former President Donald Trump is a political hatchet job years in the making. The timing is glaring.
Alleged hush-money payments to a porn star — who is now feeding off the renewed notoriety like a shark in the summer — just adds to this Big Apple circus. It is clear these charges will hurt Trump among middle-aged women. That’s a voting bloc he’ll need — if he can survive the legal onslaught that has just been unleashed.
Other cases are percolating, and we’ll weigh those on their merits. But this one?
The legal foundation of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s case is that Trump allegedly conspired to illegally influence the 2016 election through a series of hush money payments. Porn stars and extramarital affairs make for spicy reading. But this case has been stewing for so long it is just overcooked.
Bragg was just the right progressive prosecutor to come along just as Democrats, and he, needed an old-fashioned dirty diversion. Crime is out of control in Manhattan and Bragg’s go-easy approach is bringing down the heat. So, change the conversation.
President Biden is fading on just about every front so why not … change the conversation. Vice President Kamala Harris is not ready for primetime so … change the conversation.
This case and its 34-count indictment is Big Apple retribution, Bragg just didn’t bring a few buddies along with baseball bats. A native New Yorker recently explained that the city is so big — population 8.4 million — that you can curse out anyone without worrying about seeing them again too soon.
It appears the prosecutors, in this case, practice the same philosophy. There’s just one problem: Trump has branched out. He won a presidential election and has fired up his base leaving many to worry about what could happen next.
As we wrote in this space yesterday, Bragg is playing with fire. If this case falls flat on its face he would have done more harm than good. Instead, his hubris will tie up precious resources as he digs this hole as deep as it can possibly go.
Then he’ll trot out Stormy Daniels who will share all the tawdry details the DA will allow, and he’ll be sure to let a lot roll out for all to see.
Having witnessed how sobering criminal proceedings can be, Trump should be concerned. But the issue today is not the man, but the process. This case should have been brought long ago or dropped.
Dragging the country back into the 2016 election should be left for the history books. Prosecutors must weigh the chilling fallout of any crimes they chase. It appears Alvin Bragg is doing the opposite.
He’s paying back all those who supported his go-soft approach on crime and is pouring gasoline on the hard knocks style of politics New Yorkers practice. This case just smacks of a political hit job. Something Tony Soprano would be proud of.