Alvin Bragg's Trump indictment is a naked act of political aggression
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“No man is above the law and no man is below it.”
“Even Donald Trump Should Be Held Accountable”
– New York Times editorial headline
“Democrats Vow To Arrest As Many Political Opponents As It Takes To Defeat Fascism”
As a candidate, Alvin Bragg vowed to get Trump
If you believe Donald Trump should get no special treatment from the law because he’s a former president, that he should be treated like any other American accused of a crime, ask yourself this:
Would you, as an ordinary American, ever face a prosecutor who rose to power vowing to get you?
As far back as the winter of 2020, that was the thrust of Alvin Bragg’s campaign to become the next Manhattan district attorney.
Virtually everywhere candidate Bragg went, he boasted he had sued Trump, his family and his administration “more than 100 times.”
In a Democratic primary forum in December 2020, Bragg cited one Trump lawsuit as a “reason he was qualified to oversee the district attorney’s Trump investigation,” The New York Times reported.
“I have investigated Trump and his children and held them accountable for their misconduct with the Trump Foundation. I know how to follow the facts and hold people in power accountable."
Bragg’s Democratic opponent called out his bias
So heavy-handed were Bragg’s overtures to get Trump that one of his opponents in the Democratic primary, Tali Farhadian Weinstein – a former federal and state prosecutor – criticized his prosecutorial zeal and lack of professionalism.
As The Times reported back then, “A spokeswoman for Ms. Farhadian Weinstein, Jennifer Blatus, accused Mr. Bragg of attacking Mr. Trump ’for political advantage every chance he gets.’ ”
Arizona or Florida? Republicans have a stark choice to make
When Bragg won the election and finally got the case alleging Trump paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels, Bragg picked up where the district attorney he replaced, Cyrus Vance Jr., had left off.
Daniels alleged she had a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006. In connection, Trump also was accused of cooking his corporate books to cover up the payment and for never having disclosed it in campaign finance forms.
Bragg was slow to pursue an indictment of Trump. One of his prosecutors resigned from the office and wrote a book criticizing Bragg’s inaction.
No one else bit on this Trump indictment
Soon Bragg was once again pressing hard for indictment on a case that was so weak it had become the pumpkin at the ball.
Just consider how weak this case was:
Bragg’s predecessor Vance had pursued it and never brought charges.
The Trump Justice Department passed.
The Biden Justice Department passed.
The Federal Election Commission passed.
Bragg, himself, for a time grew indifferent to it. Until he was slammed in a book.
On Thursday, news emerged that Bragg had finally indicted his ham sandwich.
Democrats cheered.
My question for them is this:
When a Republican prosecuting attorney runs for office on the promise that he’ll get Joe Biden and his son for alleged kickbacks from China, will you still be cheering?
Phil Boas is an editorial columnist for The Arizona Republic. He can be reached at phil.boas@arizonarepublic.com.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump indictment is a naked act of political aggression
