Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is in an "uncomfortable" position in former President Donald Trump's criminal trial, a former federal prosecutor said this week.
During an appearance on Monday's Fox & Friends, federal prosecutor Brett Tolman suggested that Bragg was "bullied" by New York attorney Mark Pomerantz into bringing the case against the former president, which concerns alleged hush money payments made to former adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.
Pomerantz previously assisted former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. in his investigation into Trump's business dealings until he resigned from the case in February 2022, citing frustrations with Bragg's initial hesitance to pursue the hush money case against Trump. Bragg took over as Manhattan DA in January 2022.
Newsweek reached out to Bragg's office via email for comment.
The Context
Bragg indicted Trump in April 2023, accusing the former president of "repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election."
The jury selection process for Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan is expected to begin on Monday. Trump has continued to deny any wrongdoing in the case and previously said that he plans to testify.
What We Know
During his appearance on Fox & Friends, Tolman said that Bragg is using some of the "worst facts" to prosecute Trump.
The former president said last month that he would testify in the criminal case adding that he "didn't do anything wrong."
Trump further discussed testifying last week while speaking to reporters, telling NBC News, "Yeah, I would testify, absolutely...I'm testifying. I tell the truth, I mean, all I can do is tell the truth. And the truth is that there is no case."
Views
Earlier on Monday, former federal prosecutor Jennifer Rodgers said on CNN that Trump could testify in his criminal trial but called it a "risky" move.
"As soon as a defendant testifies, everything else kinda fades away," Rodgers said. "It would be really risky for him to testify and there's no way he's gonna do it if they don't get a really good ruling from the judge on what prosecutors can and can't go into on cross-examination."
What's next:
The jury selection process on Monday will have more than 500 New Yorkers fill out questionnaires about their political beliefs before 12 are chosen.
Six alternate jurors will also be selected for the case.
Update 4/15/24, 9:33 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 4/15/24, 10:01 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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Matthew Impelli is a Newsweek staff writer based in New York. His focus is reporting social issues and crime. In ... Read more
