Alvin Bragg Uses Donald Trump's Own Words Against Him

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg used Donald Trump's own words against him on Wednesday as he urged a judge to reject the former president's effort to delay his criminal hush money trial.

According to court documents, Bragg referenced comments Trump made at a press conference following a hearing last week, in which the former president said the case was "election interference" and accused the court of "trying to damage Trump as much as possible."

"Immediately after the March 25 hearing last week, defendant held a press conference outside of the Court and then a second one a few blocks away excoriating this trial as 'election interference,' attacking individual trial participants by name, and accusing this Court of 'trying to damage Trump as much as possible,'" the document reads.

"Defendant simply cannot have it both ways: complaining about the
prejudicial effect of pretrial publicity, while seeking to pollute the jury pool himself by making baseless and inflammatory accusations about this trial, specific witnesses, individual prosecutors, and the Court itself."

Newsweek reached out to Trump's spokesperson via email for comment.

Context

Trump is facing criminal charges in New York City stemming from allegations that he illegally falsified business records to conceal "hush money" payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet about an alleged affair.

Trump has denied that the affair happened and pleaded not guilty to the charges.

What We Know

Amid Trump's recent effort to delay his trial, in Wednesday's court filings, Bragg argued that Trump has failed to show either that the press coverage of the case has been prejudicial to him or that the jury pool has been tainted, adding that the former president himself is to blame for the press.

Trump's "own incessant rhetoric is generating significant publicity, and it would be perverse to reward [him] with an adjournment based on media attention he is actively seeking," Bragg told New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan.

However, Trump's attorneys have argued that "potential jurors in Manhattan have been exposed to huge amounts of biased and unfair media coverage relating to this case." Prosecutors said a thorough jury selection process can yield an impartial jury.

This most recent request to delay the trial marked Trump's eighth attempt to postpone its start, as Bragg noted in his filing.

Wednesday's filing comes after Merchan, who presides over the case, imposed a gag order against Trump after the former president made a series of public comments about the judge and his daughter, Loren Merchan.

Trump attacked Merchan's daughter for her work in Democratic political circles and called for the judge to be recused from the case.

Views

Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Alabama, previously pointed out that Trump may either attempt to seek Merchan's recusal from the case or fire his lawyers to delay his trial.

"With trial only two weeks away, Trump is showing increasing signs of desperation," Vance wrote on her blog. "There are also the time-honored strategies of the desperate: getting sick or finding a sick or dying family member and firing your lawyers."

She added: "What happens if Trump fires his lawyers? This can be a difficult one because defendants are entitled to counsel of their choosing, and lawyers are entitled to sufficient time to prepare. But Trump has a lot of lawyers on his team and the Judge has to be prepared for this one. Trump would have to argue a significant issue has developed with his lawyers before the Judge would agree to let them out of the case, and it's going to be difficult to do that with all of them."

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung previously denounced the expansion of the order as an assault on free speech that limits Trump's, the presumptive GOP nominee in this year's presidential election, ability to "speak out" against "unconstitutional tyranny."

Cheung also claimed, without evidence, that Bragg was working under orders from President Joe Biden.

"Judge Merchan's unconstitutional Gag Order prevents President Trump—the leading candidate for President of the United States—from engaging in core political speech, which is entitled to the highest level of protection under the First Amendment," Cheung said in a statement.

"Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, at the direction of Crooked Joe Biden, chose to indict President Trump in the middle of campaign season in a politically motivated attempt to derail his candidacy, and the First Amendment allows President Trump to speak out against this unconstitutional tyranny," he said.

While the expanded order limits Trump's ability to publicly disparage the families of Merchan and Bragg, there are still no explicit restrictions against the former president attacking the justice and the district attorney themselves.

What's Next?

Jury selection for Trump's hush money case is scheduled to begin on April 15 in Manhattan.

Legal experts previously told Newsweek that the trial could be over as soon as May, potentially opening up the chance for Trump to face at least one verdict in his four criminal indictments before he appears on the presidential ballot in November.

Update 4/3/24, 2:04 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 4/3/24, 2:24 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.