Donald Trump’s legal team referenced President Biden’s recent pardon of his son Hunter on Tuesday as part of their renewed effort to overturn Trump’s conviction in the Manhattan “hush money” case. The attorneys pointed to Biden’s assertion that the legal proceedings against Hunter were “infected” by politics, drawing a parallel to Trump’s own stance that the charges of falsifying business records brought against him by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office were similarly motivated by political bias.
They further argued that allowing the jury’s verdict to stand would unconstitutionally interfere with Trump’s ability to prepare for a potential second presidential term. In a 72-page brief, Trump’s lawyers accused Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who led the prosecution, of engaging in “political theater,” a practice that Biden himself had “condemned” when announcing the blanket pardon for Hunter on Sunday night.
On Monday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also defended Biden’s pardon, asserting that the cases involving Hunter were “politically infected.” This defense came in the wake of Biden’s previous declarations, in which he had repeatedly assured the American public that he would not pardon his son, despite Hunter’s convictions in two separate cases for tax evasion and making false statements on official documents, including a false claim regarding his drug addiction status when purchasing a firearm. Trump, who is 78 years old, was convicted in May on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a hush money payment.
In addition to the Manhattan conviction, Trump faces federal charges regarding the illegal possession of classified documents at Mar-A-Lago and his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election before the January 6th riot at the U.S. Capitol. These federal cases are reportedly nearing their conclusion as Trump prepares for his second presidential bid. A state case in Georgia, in which Trump is accused of attempting to interfere with the election results there, has been delayed due to a dispute over the relationship between a local district attorney and the man she appointed to lead the prosecution.
Trump’s conviction in the Manhattan case stems from actions taken during his presidency in 2017 to cover up a payment made during the final stretch of the 2016 presidential campaign.
Critics of the case have lambasted Bragg’s use of an unconventional legal theory, in which the jury determined that the falsified business records were meant to conceal another crime. This other crime allegedly involved Trump, his former attorney Michael Cohen, and the National Enquirer magazine’s attempt to violate an obscure election law by “conspiring” to help Trump secure a win over Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by purchasing and burying negative stories about him. Bragg, who has suggested that Trump’s sentencing could be delayed until 2029, is expected to respond to Trump’s legal team’s filing by December 9th.
{Matzav.com}