Why is it so hard to separate fact from fiction in the Trump trial?
Well for starters, it’s impossible to say exactly what the facts are. In our constitutional system, the basic facts begin with the formal allegation — the indictment.
In this instance, though, Manhattan’s progressive district attorney Alvin Bragg, an elected Democrat, seems to see the indictment as a game of “hide the ball.”
At National Review, we’ve made it our business to find the ball and describe it to you, along with the games the DA is trying to play with it. If you value our work, you can support it (and receive unlimited access to our coverage) for less than $1 a week.
The case is ancient history. During the 2016 presidential campaign, a porn star called Stormy Daniels claimed she’d had a fling with Donald Trump a decade earlier. Trump caused his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, to pay Daniels $130,000 for a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) shortly before Election Day.
Though pejoratively called “hush money” deals, NDAs are legal and common. Yet Bragg alleges Trump’s was illegal … though he won’t exactly say why.
It seems that Trump’s “crime,” by blue-state lights, was winning the election. That is not a crime — even for a Republican, even in New York (at least not yet).
So, Bragg is groping for a theory. He got the grand jury to charge Trump with falsifying business records — 34 felony counts’ worth, enough to send him to prison for 136 years.
It is not even clear that the records are false: When Trump reimbursed Cohen, his company booked the NDA payment as a legal expense, which is what it was.
Yet, Bragg insists the “legal expense” was made to look like Trump was paying Cohen ongoing fees in 2017 rather than reimbursing him for the NDA in 2016. That is thin gruel, but it’s a banquet compared to the rest of his case.
Beyond falsity, Bragg must prove Trump had fraudulent intent and that he was trying to conceal another crime.
In his fever dream, Trump “conspired to steal the 2016 election.” But that’s not a crime — it’s a political talking point. And worse, Bragg won’t say what the “other crime” is because he wants to prosecute Trump for a federal campaign-finance crime — something he has no jurisdiction to do, and that the feds who do have jurisdiction decided not to charge.
That’s why the DA is hiding the ball.
And that’s why we’ve been all over the trial, uncovering every ploy in this most farcical episode of lawfare, the effort to chain one presidential candidate to courtrooms while his opponent campaigns to his heart’s content.
NR has given our readers the most timely and comprehensive trial coverage on offer. And that’s without missing a beat on our usual reporting on politics, policy, economics, the arts, and so much more.
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