OPINION:
The indictment against former President Donald Trump is unprecedented, lacks legal merit and is politically motivated (“Political left is undermining faith in our government,” Web, March 31). District Attorney Alan Bragg ran for office vowing to “get” Trump and he waited until after Trump announced his presidential candidacy — even though the supposed crime occurred in 2016. This brand of prosecution is reminiscent of the motto of Joseph Stalin’s Soviet secret police chief, Lavrentiy Beria: “Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime.”
The alleged crime under discussion is not the hush-money payment to Stormy Daniels — which is perfectly legal — but that the payment was allegedly listed as a legal expense on business records. If true, this is a simple misdemeanor. To bootstrap this into a low-level felony, Bragg is apparently claiming the payment was an in-kind illegal contribution to help Trump’s 2016 campaign, a legal theory that even the Washington Post has correctly characterized as “shaky.”
Not only does Bragg’s office lack jurisdiction over federal offenses, but both the Federal Election Commission and the Justice Department of Justice declined to bring any federal charges, and for good reason. As the Post recognized, similar charges filed against former Democratic Sen. John Edwards in 2011 for receiving hush money for his mistress and love child resulted in an acquittal on one count and a hung jury on others. It was wrong the and it’s still wrong now.
PAUL KAMENAR
Counsel, National Legal and Policy Center
Chevy Chase, Maryland
