An attorney for Donald Trump sent an 11-page letter to New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg Jr., accusing him and his office of “prosecutorial misconduct” ahead of the hush-money trial set to begin later this month.
Attorney Todd Blanche ripped Bragg for turning a “blind eye” to the “admitted and repeated perjury” of Michael Cohen, a former Trump lawyer, who is the prosecution’s star witness in the trial.
At the same time, Blanche says Bragg is using his office to put “vindictive and oppressive pressure” on Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, who pleaded guilty Monday to perjury for false statements he made last May ahead of the recently completed civil trial against Trump.
Weisselberg, 76, entered court in handcuffs. He was sentenced to five months.
“This dereliction of duty renders you fully unfit to serve as District Attorney, and exposes innocent citizens, like Mr. Weisselberg, to irreparable and life-altering harm,” Blanche wrote.
“Today, your office has forced Mr. Weisselberg into pleading guilty to nonexistent perjury offenses by threatening him with years in state prison should he not succumb to your demands.”
Blanche continued, “To compel a plea today to drummed-up charges of which a jury would never convict, we understand DANY threatened to file a sham indictment against Mr. Weisselberg and then to immediately ask Judge [Juan] Merchan to violate Mr. Weisselberg, who is on probation, risking further jail time even though he is, in fact, innocent of any crime. Such tactics have no place in our American justice system, and you should be alarmed by and ashamed of this tyrannical conduct.”
Blanche said Bragg’s office “warmly embraced” Cohen despite his admittance of multiple instances of perjury.
“Indeed, the selective prosecution of Mr. Weisselberg is an affront to justice. Cohen has not been prosecuted for any of the crimes you alleged against President Trump and faces no consequences as a result of his admitted, recurring perjury,” Blanche wrote.
Weisselberg’s new criminal case comes just weeks before Trump is scheduled to stand trial on separate allegations that he falsified business records. That case involves allegations that Trump falsified company records to cover up hush money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations that he had extramarital sexual encounters. Trump has pleaded not guilty and denies wrongdoing.
Cohen has said Weisselberg had a role in orchestrating the payments, but he has not been charged in that case, and neither prosecutors nor Trump’s lawyers have indicated they will call him as a witness. That trial is scheduled to begin March 25.
“These issues demand careful consideration because of the legal, ethical, and constitutional issues they implicate. We again urge you to reconsider your positions regarding Cohen and Mr. Weisselberg and put an end to the selective and oppressive misconduct of your office,” Blanche concluded.
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