Politics

Trump calls Manhattan DA Bragg’s case ‘the new ballot stuffing’ for Dems

Former President Donald Trump went on another tirade against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Monday over the Democratic prosecutor’s effort to indict him over a “hush money” payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

“ELECTION INTERFERENCE THROUGH PROSECUTORS IS THE NEW ‘BALLOT STUFFING’ FOR THE DEMOCRAT PARTY!!!” the 76-year-old former president claimed in a post on Truth Social.

The failed 2020 Republican presidential candidate founded the social media platform after being kicked off Facebook and Twitter after Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters broke into the Capitol and halted certification of an election that Trump claimed was “rigged.”

Trump’s rant came after he told reporters covering his campaign rally in Waco, Texas, over the weekend that Bragg had already “dropped” the investigation into the $130,000 payment made to Daniels in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

“I think they’ve already dropped the case,” he said Saturday night. “It’s a fake case. Some fake cases, they have absolutely nothing.”

But Trump reversed course Monday, referencing the anticipation mounting over his possible indictment, while again insisting that no crime had been committed.

A Truth Social post by the former president likened his prosecution to his long-held claims of election fraud. Truth / Donald Trump

“Can you imagine? I am leading the opposition within the Republican Party by 30 plus, and Biden by 6 plus, and everyone is waiting to hear from a local George Soros backed D.A., who has watched Violent Crime in Manhattan soar to Record Highs, as to whether or not he is going to ‘criminally indict’ me for NO CRIME,” he said in another Truth Social post.

Trump leads the field of GOP presidential hopefuls for 2024 by 15 points, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average, but the former president is neck and neck with President Biden.

“Every Prosecutor, and the FEC, who looked at it, took a pass. One year ago he, Alvin Bragg, said ‘NO WAY.’ Now he’s looking at it again? He should prosecute Mark Pomerantz & Cohen!” Trump added, referring to the former lead prosecutor of the Manhattan office’s Trump Organization probe and Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen.

Former President Donald Trump told reporters in Waco, Texas, that his charges have already been “dropped.” Getty Images

The grand jury weighing whether to indict Trump was set to reconvene Monday afternoon and hear testimony from a witness who will rebut recent claims by a Trump ally, attorney Robert Costello, a source familiar with the matter told The Post. Costello on March 21 appeared in support of the former president to counter two days of testimony by Cohen earlier this month.

Cohen, who served prison time for paying the hush money, is believed to be the star witness in Bragg’s case against Trump, which could charge the former president with a felony for having broken federal campaign finance rules and falsified business records to buy Daniels’ silence.

The Post revealed last week that Cohen lied to federal election officials in 2018 about the infamous payment to Daniels.

Trump reversed course Monday and implied his prosecution was still under way. Truth / Donald Trump

Trump stirred up his supporters over the looming indictment a little over a week ago, when he wrongly claimed he would be arrested on March 21 after a grand jury indictment.

The claims brought a surge of donations to his 2024 presidential campaign and boosted his standing in the polls.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has gotten ex-Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to testify twice before a grand jury. Stephen Yang
Cohen paid $130,000 to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2006, and later served time for it. Getty Images

Days later, he took to Truth Social to post a picture of himself brandishing a baseball bat over Bragg’s head and later threatened “death and destruction” if the prosecutor brings charges.

After having lost the 2020 presidential race, Trump also called on his supporters to “fight like hell” to prevent President-elect Joe Biden’s ascent to the Oval Office.