Former President Donald Trump's attorney said he was skeptical about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case against his client in a criminal matter he indicted him in on Thursday, saying the public version of the case looks like it won't hold up.
James Trusty, Trump's attorney in the separate classified documents case, spoke about his client's legal situation following his indictment in an appearance on CNN. Trusty framed the case against the former president as flimsy, characterizing the work of the prosecution as legal "mental gymnastics."
DONALD TRUMP INDICTED: FORMER PRESIDENT WILL BE ARRAIGNED IN NEW YORK TUESDAY
"You know, you don't usually win on a pretrial motion saying, 'Hey, the government's got the worst witnesses imaginable,' even if that happens to be true," Trusty said. "You win on legal issues, and this case is all about, it looks like from the outside right now, mental gymnastics that don't add up. I mean, legal gymnastics, they're going to fall apart."
"So I would think, in very short order, you'll see a motion to dismiss or several motions to dismiss talking about this kind of impossible theory of stacking a federal crime into a state misdemeanor statute of limitations issues," he said. "And very importantly, the intent to defraud, that's an element of these false record-keeping charges — that's just not present here under even the most dreamy of Michael Cohen moments. It's not part of the case."
Trump attorney Jim Trusty on his Manhattan indictment: “I would think in very short order, you'll see a motion to dismiss — or several motions to dismiss." pic.twitter.com/lBGXKogLnM
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) March 31, 2023
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He also criticized the process through which the indictment came in general, calling it an "amazing breakdown of due process and fair play."
Trump was indicted in a surprise announcement on Thursday over charges related to alleged hush-money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels. He will be arraigned on Tuesday.