Hocus-pocus is a meaningless distraction or phantasm that’s supposed to idiot. That neatly summarizes District Legal professional Alvin Bragg’s case towards Donald Trump. The DA hopes to snooker a Manhattan jury into convicting the previous president with a bag of authorized tips.
In most courtrooms, the chicanery would by no means work. However on this Trump-hating venue the defendant’s jury of purported friends are seemingly predisposed to simply accept magic for magic’s sake. They could need to imagine there’s no white rabbit behind Bragg’s again, regardless of the pink ears peaking round his coat.
The primary sleight of hand occurred the second the lead prosecutor addressed jurors throughout opening statements on Monday. Assistant DA Matthew Colangelo (previously Joe Biden’s quantity three official on the Justice Division) instructed the panel, “This case is a few prison conspiracy.” Actually?
TRUMP TRIAL: FORMER PRESIDENT ‘INNOCENT,’ SAYS DEFENSE AS DA ALLEGES ‘CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY’
Why, then, is Trump not charged with that? Regardless that Colangelo repeatedly accused the defendant of collaborating in a prison conspiracy, the phrase “conspiracy” may be discovered nowhere in Bragg’s indictment. It’s not there as a result of there was no prison conspiracy. However that didn’t cease the prosecutor from deceiving the jury by arguing about an uncharged crime. Like a talented magician, he hopes his pretense will idiot them.
Not content material with one canard, Colangelo slipped one other one from his sleeve. Greater than as soon as, he accused Trump of “election fraud,” conveniently ignoring the truth that the Federal Election Fee examined Trump’s funds to porn star Stormy Daniels and decided there was no fraud as a result of the cash conferred didn’t qualify as a marketing campaign donation. Federal prosecutors who investigated reached the identical conclusion. So did Bragg’s predecessor. There was no crime.
Undeterred, Colangelo used pejorative phrases to painting the Daniels money as a nefarious scheme with out bothering to say that such non-disclosure agreements are completely authorized and routine. Additionally, lawful and fairly widespread was the alleged “catch and kill” system utilized by the tabloid, Nationwide Enquirer. On Trump’s behalf, it purchased the rights to Daniels’ story about her supposed relationship with him however declined to publish it. Contractually, it had each proper to do this.
None of this stopped the prosecutor from informing the jury that each one of this constitutes “an unlawful conspiracy to undermine a presidential election.” Like most illusions, it appears believable on the floor. However wait. Let’s verify the indictment once more. Each single one of many 34 fees towards Trump occurred in 2017. You’ll notice that that is after the 2016 election. It’s fairly the magic trick to have dedicated crimes earlier than they allegedly occurred.
Colangelo have to be new to politics or a neophyte reader of historical past. He’s below the mistaken impression that campaigns by no means attempt to bury destructive tales or promote optimistic ones. In fact, it’s been occurring for greater than two centuries. This prompted the protection in its opening assertion to warn the jury, “I’ve a spoiler alert, there’s nothing mistaken with making an attempt to affect an election; it’s referred to as democracy.” Trump legal professional Todd Blanche then added, “They put one thing sinister on it.”
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Blanche provided a full-throated protection of his well-known consumer when he declared to the jury, “President Trump is harmless.” He described how Trump had nothing to do with the bookkeeping or the 34 invoices reflecting the identical variety of charged counts. He assigned his lawyer on the time, Michael Cohen, to resolve the calls for for cash, which he did. Cohen booked the associated fee as authorized companies and bills, which they have been.
Why did Trump capitulate to what smacks of blackmail or extortion? Blanche provided this clarification: “Stormy was an try and attempt to embarrass Trump with all kinds of allegations damaging to him and damaging to his household. Trump fought again to guard his household, fame, and model…and that isn’t against the law.” Certainly, it isn’t.
The protection contends that no crimes have been dedicated in any respect, that Trump was focused as a result of he’s operating for president, and that unscrupulous prosecutors motivated by politics constructed their case on intelligent deceptions, an abuse of the legislation, and liars who can’t be trusted. Whereas a lot of this needs to be self-evident, Bragg is dedicated to using a hocus-pocus technique to idiot the jury.
Via his minion, Colangelo, the lefty DA accuses Trump of “conspiring to affect the 2016 presidential election” with out recognizing the apparent hypocrisy. It’s Bragg, himself, who’s responsible of election interference in 2024 by bringing a legally absurd case designed to take Trump off the marketing campaign path whereas his opponent, Joe Biden, freely blankets key states prematurely of the November balloting.
It’s a neat trick referred to as “lawfare” —weaponizing the legislation to persecute a political enemy below the guise of a authentic prosecution. It doesn’t matter that any conviction will certainly be overturned on enchantment. By then, the injury shall be finished.
For now, we’re left to look at and wait, questioning whether or not Manhattan jurors will fall for the authorized illusions and distractions conjured up by an unprincipled trickster referred to as Alvin Bragg.
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