Democratic Attorney Julian Epstein blasted Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's ongoing "hush money" case against former President Donald Trump as an "embarrassment to the legal system."
Epstein, who previously served as Democratic chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, criticized Bragg for pursuing the charges against Trump during an interview on Fox News' "Brian Kilmeade Radio" on Wednesday.
"This is an outrageous case. It's an embarrassment to the legal system that this case is being brought," he said. "The theory that we heard on Monday from prosecution that this is about election interference because the Trump campaign was trying to suppress that story. Suppressing that story is not election interference. Everyone does it."
Trump has become the first former president to face a criminal trial after Bragg charged him on a 34-count indictment alleging that he falsified business documents in connection to an alleged hush money payment made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign. Bragg has accused the former president of making the alleged payment to prevent her from discussing her claims of having an affair with Trump.
Trump has continually denied having an affair with Daniels and has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He has maintained his innocence in this and other legal matters and has accused Bragg and others of targeting him for political purposes, equating the trial with a form of election interference.
Epstein, in the interview, described the prosecutions' theory as "phony, terrible theory that should be an embarrassment to anybody who is making it."
Epstein also pointed out that President Joe Biden's campaign has faced accusations of trying to suppress stories about leaked emails from Hunter Biden's laptop.
"This case would never be brought if it was anyone other than Donald Trump," he said, adding that he finds the case "outrageous" even though he voted for Biden in the 2020 presidential race.
Epstein has been a rare Democratic voice who has been critical of prosecutors charging Trump after he left the White House in 2021.
For instance, he has said Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is leading an election interference case against Trump in Georgia, should resign over her case, which he called an "utter embarrassment" last month.
Newsweek reached out to Epstein and Bragg's office for comment via email.
Testimony began in the trial on Monday after jury selection lasted all of last week. On Thursday, the third day of the trial began after breaking on Wednesday. This week, the jury heard testimony from David Pecker, the former chairman, president and CEO of the National Enquirer's parent company, American Media Inc. (AMI). He testified about "catch and kill" operations related to the 2016 presidential election.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
