Former colleague of Alvin Bragg slams NYC Trump case: 'ill-conceived, unjustified mess'

A former colleague of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has publicly criticized the case against former President Donald Trump, calling it an "ill-conceived, unjustified mess." 

In an op-ed for New York Magazine, Ellie Honig, who served alongside Bragg as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York from 2004 to 2012 and now works as a legal analyst for CNN, questioned the legitimacy of the entire case. 

Honig described the case as “unprecedented” and “obscure,” and labeled them “inventive” and “inflated.” He wrote, “Here, prosecutors got their man, for now at least — but they also contorted the law in an unprecedented manner in their quest to snare their prey.” 

Honig highlighted several "undeniable facts" that cast doubt on the conviction, including Judge Juan Merchan's biases and past donations to Democratic causes. He noted, “The judge donated money — a tiny amount, $35, but in plain violation of a rule prohibiting New York judges from making political donations of any kind — to a pro-Biden, anti-Trump political operation, including funds that the judge earmarked for ‘resisting the Republican Party and Donald Trump’s radical right-wing legacy.’" 

"Would folks have been just fine with the judge staying on the case if he had donated a couple bucks to ‘Re-elect Donald Trump, MAGA forever!’? Absolutely not,” he added.  

Honig also pointed out that no state prosecutor has ever charged federal election laws as state crimes.  

“The charges against Trump are obscure, and nearly entirely unprecedented. In fact, no state prosecutor — in New York, or Wyoming, or anywhere — has ever charged federal election laws as a direct or predicate state crime, against anyone, for anything. None. Ever. Even putting aside the specifics of election law, the Manhattan DA itself almost never brings any case in which falsification of business records is the only charge,” he explained. 

Honig went on to state that Bragg, whom he referred to as a friend, came into office after campaigning on the promise of prosecuting Trump no matter what. 

“The charges against Trump aren’t just unusual. They’re bespoke, seemingly crafted individually for the former president and nobody else,” Honig said “Most importantly, the DA’s charges against Trump push the outer boundaries of the law and due process. That’s not on the jury. That’s on the prosecutors who chose to bring the case and the judge who let it play out as it did.” 

Trump was convicted on Thursday of 34 counts related to allegations of falsifying business records. Judge Merchan is set to issue sentencing on July 11.