Do anyone else think that Bragg is leaving a much stronger case on the table by concentrating on this election interference stuff?
The basic facts of this case are that Trump falsified business records to cover up affairs. In order for the falsification to be a felony, it needs to be in furtherance of another crime. So to do this, Bragg for some reason thinks he needs to think of some convoluted way in which the hush money payments constitute election interference or campaign finance violations. This part of the case has always struck me as incredibly weak.
But he shouldn't need to do this.
Adultery in New York is a crime. If you are falsifying records to cover up an affair, it can be prosecuted as a felony because the affair itself in the underlying crime.
Trump might not be guilty of adultery with Stormy Daniels, because my impression was the affair was not conducted in New York. But he almost certainly did commit adultery in New York with Karen McDougal.
So why not concentrate this case on the payments to McDougal to cover up the crime of adultery, and just leave out any feeble connection to election interference?
I know the adultery law in New York might not be popular, but an unbiased jury would be expected to uphold the law whether they like it or not, and this seems like an ironclad case if judged by the letter of the law.
The basic facts of this case are that Trump falsified business records to cover up affairs. In order for the falsification to be a felony, it needs to be in furtherance of another crime. So to do this, Bragg for some reason thinks he needs to think of some convoluted way in which the hush money payments constitute election interference or campaign finance violations. This part of the case has always struck me as incredibly weak.
But he shouldn't need to do this.
Adultery in New York is a crime. If you are falsifying records to cover up an affair, it can be prosecuted as a felony because the affair itself in the underlying crime.
Trump might not be guilty of adultery with Stormy Daniels, because my impression was the affair was not conducted in New York. But he almost certainly did commit adultery in New York with Karen McDougal.
So why not concentrate this case on the payments to McDougal to cover up the crime of adultery, and just leave out any feeble connection to election interference?
I know the adultery law in New York might not be popular, but an unbiased jury would be expected to uphold the law whether they like it or not, and this seems like an ironclad case if judged by the letter of the law.
Interesting, I hadn't heard that adultery is supposedly a crime. If it is, that is obviously unconstitutional under the Supreme Court's precedent (Griswold, Obergefell etc).
So the problem with convicting Trump on that basis is it would be easy for SCOTUS to overturn on appeal.
Though given that the Supreme Court is dominated by Conservatives, it would be an interesting/difficult case for them insofar as their ideology would be conflicting with their hackery.
The additional problem is it quite possible for a jury (or even just a single juror) to potential do jury nullification on that basis.