Following a New York Times report that Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg has signaled the possibility of criminal charges against Donald Trump, “Morning Joe” expressed concern on Friday that that the former president may use the move as “political ammo” in his 2024 re-election campaign.
“He’ll say, ‘Look this is a biased D.A. in a deep blue county coming to get me,” MSNBC host Jonathan Lemire said. “I think his poll numbers in the Republican base might go up.”
The Times noted that Trump was recently told by his attorneys that he can testify before a grand jury in New York City next week as part of an investigation into hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
“My first reaction was Stormy Daniels seems so many felonies ago – I should have said so many alleged felonies – so many impeachments, an insurrection, an attempt to steal an election, it goes on and on and on,” Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson said. “I think he will kind of use that as well, that this is sort of ancient history and another indicia that they’re just out to get him and it’s all political.”
Robinson proceeded to ask former U.S. attorney Barbara McQuade if the illegal campaign donation prosecuted on federal charges can also count as a state crime or if Bragg would have to rely on a federal conviction to allege a second crime.
“There is also a state offense for concealing campaign contributions so I would suspect that he would go that route,” she replied. “If he were to use the federal offense, I think the law gets a little more complicated. I don’t know if he’s precluded from doing that, but it seems the safer route would be to use the state court basis to make it a sound charge. I suppose he could charge both but what seems most likely to me is that he would use that state felony in an effort to conceal as part of his legal theory in this case.”
Watch the full “Morning Joe” segment in the video above.
