First off, the "records" in question were internal bookkeeping entries related to the payment of a small dollar amount (couple of hundred grand for a multibillion-dollar enterprise) paid from Trump's personal trust to Trump's personal business. Just like the fake Tish James case, no one was defrauded or harmed by these entries nor could they possibly have been. They were his own personal records, and the only cash involved was his own.

Second, Bragg has deemed the records "fraudulent" because they were recorded as payment for legal services, whereas Bragg claims they should have been recorded as something else. Who knows what, but something else. These were LITERALLY payments from Trump to one of his attorneys, Michael Cohen, who had submitted an invoice for said services. There was nothing fraudulent about recording them as payment for legal services.

Third, Trump was almost certainly not the trustee for his personal trust during his presidency, and we know he wasn't in charge of the Trump Org while in office because the rules of the presidency forbid it. So, any payments/entries made were not done by him, but rather by others who were in charge in his absence. If anyone were going to be charged here, it should be them, not him, not that anyone should be charged.

Fourth, the recordkeeping crimes alleged are misdemeanors, and the statute of limitations ran out on those after two years, meaning 2019. Thus, he can't be charged even if guilty.

Fifth, to circumvent #4 above and bring his fraudulent case, Bragg has to contend that the misdemeanor acts were in furtherance of a separate felony, which would magically turn the misdemeanors themselves into felonies and extend their statute of limitations. To do so, Bragg is alleging that the private settlement was an illegal campaign contribution (a felony) despite the fact that nothing was contributed to the campaign, and any alleged contribution would have been made by the candidate himself in any case, an absurdity on stilts.

Further, he is assuming the campaign finance crime into existence, as not only has Trump not been charged with or convicted of a campaign finance violation, but he has already been exonerated by the FEC for this exact chain of events AND the former NY prosecutor AND Alvin Bragg himself declined to bring charges in previous years after investigating Trump. In addition, the state's chief witness, Michael Cohen, has already stated in an official letter filed with the FEC that the payments and activities involved were not campaign-related (nor could they possibly have been).

Other than all that, Bragg has an airtight case.

[Post edited by Los Angeles Hoo at 04/15/2024 1:07PM]