Bragg’s Office Submits Filing Following Trump Motion
Things are heating up on the political front as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg finds himself at the center of a new controversy involving former President Donald Trump. After securing a criminal conviction against Trump back in June, Bragg’s latest move has sparked speculation that he may be trying to keep the former president out of jail, at least for now.
Here’s what’s going on: On Friday, Bragg’s office submitted a filing that caught a lot of attention. The progressive prosecutor stated that his office would not oppose a motion from Trump’s legal team to delay a sentencing hearing that was originally scheduled for September 18th.
This request from Trump’s attorneys comes in the wake of a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling that grants presidents absolute immunity for official acts performed while in office. Trump’s lawyers argue that this could potentially cover the actions he took related to the hush money payments made to adult film star Stormy Daniels, which were the basis of the felony charges he was found guilty of.
JUST IN: DA Bragg does *not* oppose Trump's request to delay his sentencing, instead deferring to Justice Merchan.
They note the new/complex effect of the Supreme Court's immunity ruling. https://t.co/kOw6qETBZF pic.twitter.com/2paU87ko1q
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) August 19, 2024
The charges stem from allegations that Trump orchestrated these payments to help his 2016 campaign and then ordered the payments to be misclassified in business records. The big question now is whether Trump’s actions could be considered part of his official duties, which would complicate the case further.
In the filing, Bragg’s team noted that they would defer to the court’s decision on whether to delay the sentencing to allow time for Trump’s immunity motion to be adjudicated. They also mentioned that the Supreme Court’s ruling didn’t address whether a trial court’s decision on such an evidentiary question is immediately appealable, leaving the door open for further legal wrangling.
This is Bragg trying to protect Democrats from any possible backlash.
Incredibly transparent. https://t.co/GKTTtoqGrR
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) August 19, 2024
This isn’t the first time Bragg’s office has agreed to a delay, leading some, like RedState contributor Bonchie, to suggest that the prosecutor might be trying to avoid the optics of sending Trump to jail before Election Day. The timing is certainly interesting, especially since Trump recently survived an assassination attempt and has been ramping up his rhetoric against the Democratic Party, accusing them of sidelining President Joe Biden in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris.
Speaking of the election, the dynamics have shifted dramatically. With Biden ending his reelection campaign and Harris stepping in as the Democratic nominee, the race is now tighter than ever. Most mainstream polls show Harris in a close race with Trump, surpassing Biden’s earlier polling numbers. But Trump isn’t backing down—he’s been holding press conferences from Mar-a-Lago, accusing Democrats of staging a “coup” by pushing Biden aside in favor of Harris.