06-05-2024, 07:07 AM
(06-04-2024, 07:13 PM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: 10) These felony charges and trial wouldn’t have happened at all had it not been for the defendant’s name and/or status as a presidential candidate in 2024.
Just one I’ve seen a lot of, not sure if there’s proof one way or another outside of just seeming obvious.
So, I would say that the charges likely would not have been brought had it not been Trump. However, it has nothing to do with his status as a candidate. The timeline of events for this case began in 2018 with Michael Cohen's guilty plea. When that occurred, the prior Manhattan DA, Vance, started investigating Trump and the organization. The investigation was paused as the SDNY opened an investigation and closed it in 2019 without charges. Vance picked it back up and issued subpoenas in 2019. Trump attempted to claim immunity from them until SCOTUS finally voted 7-2 that he was not immune from them and he had to comply.
Bragg started his campaign for the role in 2019, IIRC. The information subpoenaed was received by the DA's office not too long before he took the helm and charges had been filed by Vance against Weisselberg and the Trump organization. The investigation was still ongoing into Trump himself, however, and Bragg was reticent towards it. This is one of the reasons Pomerantz ended up leaving. There are a lot of sources out there for this information, including the Wikipedia post on the prosecution of Trump. Personally, I like this article from CNN where there was an interview with Bragg upon taking office that shows that while he was intent on continuing what Vance had started, it wasn't his primary focus. Which brings me to my next point for this thread.
11. "Alvin Bragg campaigned on throwing Trump in jail." - Bragg made comments while campaigning that he was the right person to pick up the inquiry from Vance because he had brought litigation against Trump in the past. He stated that he had a history of holding people in power accountable and that he would do the same here “by following the facts where they go.” Obviously, the investigations opened by Vance in 2018 were going to loom large in the race, so they had to be discussed, but Bragg's comments were more about being the right person to pick up that ball from Vance, not that he was determined to indict/prosecute Trump. (Source)
"A great democracy has got to be progressive, or it will soon cease to be either great or a democracy..." - TR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." - FDR
