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Legal Analyst Predicts NY Will Move to Indict Trump On Yet Another Charge

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


A former federal prosecutor-turned-legal analyst predicts that the state of New York will look into indicting former President Donald Trump on another charge after a Manhattan grand jury voted this week to charge him with campaign finance violations stemming from a 2016 “hush money” payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

According to Newsweek, Glenn Kirschner says that Trump’s social media posts targeting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg violate both federal and New York state laws.

The outlet noted that Trump has referred to Bragg as a “Soros-funded animal” and made threatening comments, including warnings of “death & destruction” if charges are filed. He also shared a photo of himself holding a baseball bat next to an image of Bragg, which he later removed.

During an episode of his Justice Matters YouTube series on Sunday, the veteran federal prosecutor stated that Trump’s social media posts could be seen as a violation of a specific state statute barring “obstructing governmental administration in the second degree.”

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“Friends, when the grand jurors reconvene on Monday, they should receive additional evidence from prosecutors of Donald Trump’s ‘death and destruction’ threats, in violation of Section 195.05,” he argued earlier this week.

Kirschner argued in his Monday Justice Matters video that Trump’s posts targeting Bragg also violate federal law surrounding interstate communications, 18 U.S. Code Section 875. He explained that this law applies to the transmission of “interstate or foreign commerce, any communication containing any threat to kidnap any person or any threat to injure the person,” and is punishable by a fine or “not more than five years or both.”

“Now, posting something on the internet equals transmitting it in interstate commerce,” Kirshner argued. “And this picture depicting you taking a bat to your prosecutor equals a threat to another, and Donald Trump should be prosecuted both locally in New York and federally because justice matters.”

“The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have not indicated that they intend to pursue further investigations into Trump’s recent social media posts,” Newsweek noted. “The DOJ is currently probing Trump’s actions surrounding the January 6 siege on the U.S. Capitol and his handling of classified documents retrieved from his Florida home in Mar-a-Lago after his presidency.”

A spokesperson for the former president earlier dismissed Kirschner’s analyses of the various cases involving the former president.

“Glenn is a notorious trafficker of wild conspiracy theories and dubious legal analysis,” a statement to Newsweek said. “I would expect nothing more from a clout-chasing MSNBC contributor who has been shunned by the legal community at large.”

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Trump was formally indicted on Thursday, which came after some believed he would not be indicted this month after Bragg dismissed the grand jury until next month.

“The break would push any indictment of the former president to late April at the earliest, although it is possible that the grand jury’s schedule could change. In recent weeks, the Manhattan district attorney’s office hasn’t convened the panel on certain days. But it is District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prerogative to ask the grand jury to reconvene if prosecutors want the panel to meet during previously planned breaks,” Politico reported earlier this week.

“The grand jury, which heard testimony in the Trump case on Monday, isn’t meeting Wednesday and is expected to examine evidence in a separate matter Thursday, the person said. The grand jury, which typically meets Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, is scheduled to consider another case next week on Monday and Wednesday, the person said, and isn’t expected to meet Thursday due to the Passover holiday,” the outlet added.

Meanwhile, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced on Thursday night that the state will not cooperate with any request to extradite Trump.

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“The weaponization of the legal system to advance a political agenda turns the rule of law on its head. It is un-American,” DeSantis tweeted.

“The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent. Florida will not assist in an extradition request given the questionable circumstances at issue with this Soros-backed Manhattan prosecutor and his political agenda,” he added.

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