Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has accused former President Donald Trump of diverting attention from his criminal case by emphasizing discovery violations in a recent court filing.
Former President Trump currently faces 34 felony charges linked to the falsification of business records. He is accused of trying to hide hush-money payments made to adult film star Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, during his 2016 presidential campaign.
Despite continuous denials and pleading not guilty to charges, Trump’s alleged affair with Clifford remains an ongoing controversy. The trial, originally scheduled for March 25 in New York, is still pending.
Earlier this month, Bragg mentioned that he would not object to a 30-day postponement of the impending trial. This decision came after Bragg provided a staggering 73,000 documents on March 4. He suggested that this “brief adjournment” could allow Trump’s team ample time to thoroughly examine the documents. In the court filing, Bragg also stated his belief that only 172 pages of “witness statements” would be pertinent for review and discussion prior to the trial.
In the recently disclosed filing by Bragg on Thursday, he criticized Trump’s attempt to dismiss the case, citing discovery violations. Bragg pointed out that the delayed production of articles from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York (“USAO”) was solely due to the defendant’s unexplained and strategic delay in identifying perceived deficiencies in the People’s disclosures and seeking alternative methods to obtain that evidence.
Bragg further emphasized, “The defendant’s emphasis on alleged discovery violations is misleading. Evidence relevant to a case can come from various sources and is not restricted to the specific materials in the possession of the prosecution that are subject to automatic disclosure under CPL 245.20. Therefore, the late disclosure of evidence does not necessarily imply a violation of CPL 245.20 by the prosecution.”
In the latest filing, Bragg pointed out that Trump has been making false and baseless accusations of misconduct and malfeasance following the release of documents by the USAO.
According to former U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade, there is no evidence of misconduct by the prosecution or any justification for dismissing the case. McQuade stated in an email to Newsweek that the defendants have already been granted the delay they requested, and any production delay can be addressed through further delay. She characterized Trump’s motion as an aggressive attempt to prolong the case.
According to Palm Beach County State Attorney Dave Aronberg, he also expressed his belief to Newsweek on Thursday that DA Bragg’s argument will ultimately be successful.
According to Aronberg, it is not fair to blame the state prosecutors for the delay in the trial. Instead, he places the responsibility on the Federal Government and the defense team for their slow progress. Aronberg expresses his expectation that Judge Merchant will proceed with the trial promptly once the 30-day extension comes to an end.