A group of more than 175 former federal prosecutors released an open letter denouncing Donald Trump’s incendiary attacks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who’s investigating the former president for hush-money payments to a porn star.
(Bloomberg) — A group of more than 175 former federal prosecutors released an open letter denouncing Donald Trump’s incendiary attacks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who’s investigating the former president for hush-money payments to a porn star.
The group, which included dozens of Bragg’s former colleagues from the Manhattan US Attorney’s office, condemned Trump’s statements on social media calling Bragg an “animal” and predicting “death and destruction” if Trump is indicted. The group said the statements were an effort to intimidate Bragg.
“Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly issued vitriolic attacks on the District Attorney, and most recently made statements that can be construed as inciting violence,” the group said.
Bragg impaneled a grand jury in January that’s weighing the possibility of criminal charges against the former president over hush money payments made shortly before the 2016 presidential election to porn star Stormy Daniels, to conceal an affair she says she had with Trump. Trump has denied the affair and called Bragg’s probe a political attack.
“We must protect prosecutors from efforts to intimidate or improperly influence them,” the group said. “Indeed, in a democracy, it is critical to maintain prosecutorial independence and the rule of law,” the group said.
Those who signed include former Brooklyn US attorneys Zachary Carter, Robert Capers, Bridget Rohde and Alan Vinegrad. Tali Farhadian Weinstein, who ran against Bragg for Manhattan District Attorney, also signed. The letter is similar to one that former federal prosecutors in New York released condemning Trump’s firing of then-Manhattan US Attorney Geoffrey Berman in 2020.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.