Former President Donald Trump has not yet been arrested for his alleged involvement in providing a hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
Trump posted on social media Saturday that he expected to be arrested over the case this week.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is now claiming that Trump “created a false expectation” that he was going to be arrested soon.
Former U.S. Attorney Jay Town discussed the case and possible indictment against Trump during a recent appearance on WVNN’s “The Yaffee Program.”
“What (Alvin Bragg) is simply doing is he’s saying, ‘Boy I hate Donald Trump and man will I be popular with my base if I bring this prosecution,’ that has so many holes in it’s like a big chunk of swiss cheese,” Town said. “Even CNN and MSNBC analysts are saying, ‘Oh man, this is not the case. This case is going to fail, and all it’s going to do is embolden the guy that we don’t want in the White House, or we don’t want on the campaign trail. You’re going to blow it for us Alvin Bragg.’ Again, that shouldn’t be Alvin Bragg’s consideration at all, but the legal analysis of this case is weak at best, but it looks like he might bring it anyway.”
Town said even if Bragg brings an indictment against the former president, it might be immediately thrown out by the judge.
“Let’s just start with the fact that does it even ever get to court,” he said. “Because is the case going to be dismissed because the statutory of limitations for a misdemeanor in the state of New York is two years. To be able to box car another charge on top of it, which in this case is a federal campaign violation, which even the very liberal Southern District of New York has passed on, even the FEC has passed on referral of charges under whatever Bragg’s theory might be, but the statute of limitations under the original misdemeanor has lapsed.”
He also believes Bragg will be putting personal politics over the law if he decides to move forward with this prosecution against Trump.
“Your job as a prosecutor is not to consider all those external factors, whether it’s going to be a popular prosecution, or whether it’s going to help or hurt the political career of the victim or defendant, or the elected official in this case, Alvin Bragg,” he said. “Those are just not considerations.”
Town said, based on his own experience as a prosecutor, he believes this case could damage the integrity and trust of the justice system.
“What’s always been my formula, and what the best prosecutors, in my view, their formula is,” he said. “What are the facts? What is the law? And then can I prove beyond a reasonable doubt? That’s 90% of the calculus. The other 10% of the calculus is only: Is this prosecution going to somehow deteriorate the trust and confidence that our public has in the justice system?
“When you are dealing with, in your prosecutorial discretion, the prosecution of an elected official, or former elected official like the former president of the United States, you have to consider whether or not this Minnie Mouse, penny ante case, is worth possibly reducing the confidence in people have in all of the other tens of thousands of cases that you are going to bring that are actually involving violent criminals, violent crime, victims of violent crime and their families.”
Much is being made about the wisdom of @ManhattanDA indicting #Trump. Will it help or hurt Trump politically? Will it hurt democrats or republicans? Strategically wait for Georgia or Jack Smith?
These are absurd considerations for real prosecutors…which Bragg isn’t.
— Jay Town (@JayTownAlabama) March 22, 2023
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
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