George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley warned Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg that New York judges, especially at the Appellate level, will not like his case against Trump.
He said: “This indictment, if it is reportedly following the theory that we’ve been talking about, is political. It’s a raw political prosecution. The indictment may come out with a crime that none of us have heard of.
“But for many months, this bootstrapping theory has been put out there, this idea that you could take a misdemeanor under New York law that has expired, that has a two year statute of limitations, and revive it by connecting it to a federal crime, in this case, the federal election violation
“Now, there’s a host of problems with that.
“First of all, it’s a federal crime the Department of Justice chose not to prosecute.
“Bragg’s own predecessor declined to prosecute it, but he is attempting to bootstrap that federal crime into a state case.
“And if that is the basis for the indictment, I think it’s rather outrageous.
“I think it’s legally pathetic.
“If he’s using the bootstrap theory, which is the only one that’s been discussed publicly, that is unprecedented.
“And I expect that New York judges will have the same reaction of many of us, including people on the left, that this doesn’t read right.
“Under Bragg’s theory, he could take any unproven federal crime and revive a long dead misdemeanor and turn it into a felony.
“That’s going to really, you know, raise concerns for a number of judges.
“But once it gets to the appellate level, he’s going to have a particularly difficult time, in my view,” he said.
Jonathan Turley on the indictment of President Trump:
“It’s rather outrageous. It’s legally pathetic.”pic.twitter.com/fDn1D0f0fx
— Citizen Free Press (@CitizenFreePres) March 30, 2023
Bragg reportedly has secured his indictment. He has made history, but it is an inglorious moment where even some on the left have criticized the effort. This is a patently political prosecution. https://t.co/fTE81QC6QC
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) March 30, 2023
