Prosecutors have created a Frankenstein case against Trump: Jonathan Turley
Fox News contributor calls the New York hush money case a ‘bizarre indictment that will lead to an equally bizarre trial’ as jury selection begins.
Fox News contributor and George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley explained why former President Trump's New York hush money case is a "Frankenstein case" on "America Reports." As jury selection began Monday, Turley said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg took a "dead misdemeanor" and attached it to a "dead alleged felony" and "zapped it back into life."
Former US President Donald Trump, left, and Susan Necheles, attorney for former US President Donald Trump, right, in a courtroom at Manhattan criminal court in New York, US, on Monday, March 25, 2024. Trump is in court for a high-stakes hearing on his last-ditch bid to dismiss charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who accused Trump of falsifying business records to disguise hush money payments to a porn star before the 2016 election. Photographer: Mary Altaffer/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Getty Images)
JONATHAN TURLEY: This is a Frankenstein case. They took a dead misdemeanor. They attached it to a dead alleged federal felony and zapped it back into life. So many of us are just amazed to watch this actually walk into court, because it's not a recognizable crime that any of us have seen. This does not appear to be a federal crime, but that's the theory that Bragg is using. So they need to go into the Wayback Machine.
This state misdemeanor died because of the statute of limitations. Then what Bragg said was, well, I'm going to allege that you did false filings on business records to hide a crime, but he was very ambiguous [on] what that crime might be. He still is ambiguous, but it is assumed to be a federal election crime. The problem is the federal government doesn't view it as a crime. They decided not to prosecute. And most election experts say that this is the type of thing that's failed in the past. So this bizarre indictment is now going to be an equally bizarre trial. And to this day, there's some confusion as to Bragg's actual theory as to what was the exact crime that Trump was hiding from all of this.
HUSH MONEY TRIAL JUDGE TEES UP RULING ON WHETHER TRUMP VIOLATED GAG ORDER, SHOULD PAY THOUSANDS
The judge presiding over former President Trump's hush money trial in New York City announced he will hear arguments this month on whether Trump violated a gag order amid the case and should pay $1,000 fines for each violation.
Judge Juan Merchan said he will hear arguments on April 23 at 9:30 a.m. regarding whether Trump violated a gag order that prevents him from making public statements about witnesses and their anticipated testimony in the trial.
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The district attorney's office argued Monday that Trump has violated the order three times in social media posts and should pay $1,000 for each violation of the gag order. The prosecutors said Trump should remove the posts and requested that he be held in contempt.
Fox News' Emma Colton, Maria Paronich and Grace Taggart contributed to this report.
