In court documents made public on Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicated that, if former President Trump chooses to take the stand in his ongoing “hush money” trial, Bragg would cross-examine him on previous legal rulings against Trump and his businesses.
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In court papers signed last month but not made public until Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s (D) office said it would seek to question Trump about 13 court rulings against him or his businesses to impeach his credibility.
The list runs the gamut of Trump’s recent civil cases, referencing his recent business fraud trial that ended in a nearly half-billion-dollar payout, gag order violations and jury verdicts. Trump’s lawyers have indicated they oppose prosecutors’ request.
Trump has signaled an openness to testifying in his hush money trial, which unlike those past civil lawsuits is a criminal case.
It seems unlikely that the former President’s attorneys would want him to take the stand; indeed it’s likely that they would do all they can to prevent him from doing so. Further, it’s unclear what relevance Bragg’s questioning along these lines would have to this case.
Previously on RedState: New Poll: In the Court of Public Opinion, Trump’s Verdict Is In
Bragg’s intended line of questioning looks suspiciously like scandal-mongering, intended to bias the jury.
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In the newly public court papers, Bragg said he wants to raise the $354 million penalty Trump was ordered to pay after a New York judge found he conspired to alter his net worth for tax and insurance benefits, writing Trump “repeatedly and persistently” falsified business records, issued false financial statements and conspired to commit insurance fraud.
The Manhattan district attorney also intends to highlight Trump’s violations of a gag order in that case, which barred him from publicly talking about any court staff. The former president racked up $15,000 in fines for skirting the judge’s directive, and when Trump was asked to take the stand to explain himself, the judge determined that his testimony “rings hollow and untrue.”
While DA Bragg is engaged in what can only be described as a political-motivated prosecution, New York City has, since the New Year, reported 91 murders, 428 cases of rape, 4,531 robberies, 7,419 felony assaults, 3,603 burglaries, 13,340 cases of grand larceny, 3,671 cases of grand larceny, auto, along with 245 shootings, 12,308 cases of miscellaneous assault, 161 hate crimes and 67 traffic fatalities. In one particularly egregious case, Bragg filed murder charges against a bodega owner, Jose Alba, for defending himself with a knife against a convicted felon, Austin Simon. Those charges were later dismissed.
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On Tuesday, when the court adjourned for the day, Donald Trump visited Jose Alba’s bodega, where he was greeted by a crowd and shouts of “four more years.”
In Harlem. See Nick Arama’s account of that event:
See Related: Let’s Compare Thoughts on Bodegas: The Wild Welcome for Trump vs. Jill Biden’s Take
That’s some Legendary-class trolling, right there.
Really, one would think that Alvin Bragg, as the District Attorney of a jurisdiction like this, would have better things to do.
