OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.
George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley criticized the prosecution’s case against Donald Trump in New York, saying it revives a stale misdemeanor claim as a campaign finance violation that does not exist.
Turley argued the prosecution is politically motivated given it involves the former Biden Associate Attorney General and targets conduct comparable to Hillary Clinton’s campaign financing the Steele dossier.
“What is clear is in this case, Trump is right,” Turley said. “I mean, this is an embarrassment. I mean, the fact that we are actually talking about this case being presented in a New York courtroom leaves me in utter disbelief. I mean, the arguments today did in fact capture all the problems here.”
“You know, you had this misdemeanor under state law that had run out. This is going back to the 2016 election. And they zapped it back into life by alleging that there was a campaign finance under the federal laws that doesn’t exist. The Department of Justice doesn’t view it this way.”
“But also keep in mind, this is what Hillary Clinton’s people did. Remember, when they funded the Steele Dossier, which they denied to reporters. They put it as a legal expense, and then they fought the eventual fine that they received from the federal government saying ‘well it was a legal expense.’ But now you’ve got some of the same Democrats supporting this same bizarre theory,” Turley said.
Meanwhile, the prosecution accused Trump of orchestrating an election interference conspiracy and covering it up through false records, while Trump’s defense affirmed his innocence and sought to undermine the credibility of Stormy Daniels and Michael Cohen.
“The fact is that most people in most courts would be, like, ‘woah, lets nots start with the former Biden Justice [Department] attorney to make this argument. But in New York, it doesn’t matter, because not much else matters except the name of the defendant on the caption, Donald Trump,” Turley added.
“President Trump is innocent. President Trump did not commit any crimes. The Manhattan district attorney’s office should never have brought this case,” defense attorney Todd Blanche said.
The trial will examine if Trump violated laws in reimbursing Cohen for the hush money payment.