Former President Donald Trump and his attorneys have spent the past few weeks arguing that the charges he faces are part of a larger political witch hunt.
According to The Hill, Trump and his lawyers met resistance from Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's office this week as they attempted to move to have the trial thrown out, arguing several reasons why they believe it should be quashed.
Bragg's office pushed back on Trump's claims that he's being targeted because he's the biggest Republican threat to the White House next year.
Trump and his legal team have also argued that the case, involving alleged hush money payments to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, should be tossed on other grounds as well.
The Hill noted:
Trump has mounted a multi-pronged defense to the indictment, arguing prosecutors impermissibly singled him out for political reasons, the charges were legally deficient, the counts were redundant and the case was brought too late.
Bragg and his office, unsurprisingly, said that Trump's arguments as to why the case should be dismissed is a mischaracterization of the law.
"Defendant’s motions to dismiss the indictment and for other relief mischaracterize the factual record and disregard controlling law," the prosecutors wrote.
Manhattan DA Bragg's Office Says Trump Case Should 'Proceed' to Trialhttps://t.co/yO9dGcTe3O
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) November 16, 2023
Bragg's office urged the judge in the court filing to proceed with the trial as scheduled.
"Defendant is alleged to have lied in New York business records over and over to conceal the truth about his involvement in an illegal conspiracy to undermine the integrity of the 2016 presidential election," Bragg’s office wrote.
"A grand jury decided based on the facts and the law to charge defendant with felony crimes for his conduct. This case should now proceed to trial."
Donald Trump’s bid to dismiss Manhattan criminal charges over hush money payments to porn star Stormy Daniels boils down to an argument that the former president deserves special treatment, prosecutors told a judge. https://t.co/HJCRxfKc3d
— Bloomberg (@business) November 16, 2023
Trump has long insisted that Bragg, the first prosecutor to file an indictment against him, making history in the process, is like all the rest in that he believes they're doing it to disrupt his 2024 presidential campaign.
If that's the case, it's still not working out as planned for the other side, as Trump continues to gain momentum in the polls and is now beating President Joe Biden in 2024 hypothetical matchups.
