Fresh proof Bragg’s Trump case is a reach, and nakedly political

[Kamaji]

Fresh proof Bragg’s Trump case is a reach, and nakedly political

By Post Editorial Board
April 5, 2023

The numbers don’t lie: Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump is a massive outlier, not the “bread and butter” move the crime-lover claimed it was. 

Turns out, his office almost never prosecutes cases on charges like the ones he’s mounted against the ex-prez — i.e., first-degree falsifying business records with the “intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.”

State crime data crunched by the Times-Union show that Bragg’s office has gone after people for this as a top charge only eight times in the past few years.

Statewide, there have been fewer than 300 such cases since 2019.

This alone debunks Bragg’s claim that the Trump case represents just another day in the office.

And the actual results of such charges are completely laughable.

Those same data show that the most common outcome is . . . a guilty plea to disorderly conduct.

Under New York law, that’s a violation — a sub-misdemeanor offense in many cases punished only by a fine.

Felony convictions for such charges are almost unthinkably rare. Jail time equally so.

So Bragg swung big, upended our democratic norms and paved the way for endless political retaliation — all to likely end up whiffing.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/04/05/fresh-proof-braggs-trump-case-is-a-reach-and-nakedly-political/

[BellyAche]

 "First-degree falsifying business records" is a classic white collar crime misdemeanor, and the statute of limitations have been met, so it's bogus now. Tying it to other supposed criminality like intent to influence the outcome of an election is interpretive and subjective. Bragg is most definitely interpreting Trump's behavior and trying to piece together a larger crime from  minor ones. And it does smack of vindictiveness. Many lawyers from both sides of the fence are coming out to write and talk about this case in a disparaging way. Unfortunately the case will have to be played out in the liberal court system of NYC and the media will go berserk.

[Kamaji]

"First-degree falsifying business records" is a classic white collar crime misdemeanor, and the statute of limitations have been met, so it's bogus now. Tying it to other supposed criminality like intent to influence the outcome of an election is interpretive and subjective. Bragg is most definitely interpreting Trump's behavior and trying to piece together a larger crime from  minor ones. And it does smack of vindictiveness. Many lawyers from both sides of the fence are coming out to write and talk about this case in a disparaging way. Unfortunately the case will have to be played out in the liberal court system of NYC and the media will go berserk.

Tying the underlying misdemeanor offense to another crime, in the abstract, is not "interpretive and subjective" because the statute quite clearly says the offense is a Class E felony if part of the intent to defraud involves intent to commit another crime, or to cover up the commission of another crime.

The question is whether Bragg can find another crime, the commission of which was covered up by the falsification of business records, and to further show that the intent to defraud existed.