Donald Trump is launching a preemptive attack on prosecutor Alvin Bragg in the run-up to a possible criminal indictment in New York
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
- Donald Trump has launched a preemptive attack on Alvin Bragg ahead of a possible indictment.
- Bragg is the prosecutor overseeing the Stormy Daniels hush money payments case.
- Trump may be indicted in the coming days following testimony from his former fixer, Michael Cohen.
Former President Donald Trump on Thursday evening launched a preemptive attack against Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said he is "completely innocent" and "did nothing wrong."
"Now Democrats are at it again, pushing the 'Nuclear Button' and attacking a President because of a disgraced extortionist," Trump wrote, likely referring to Stormy Daniels — the adult film actress who says she had an affair with Trump in 2006.
In his statement, Trump accused Bragg — without substantiation or evidence — of being a "George Soros-backed Radical Left Democrat prosecutor" and running a "sham" investigation against him.
There is no evidence that Soros — a lightning rod for right-wing conspiracy theories — has anything to do with Bragg's investigation into Trump. Trump did not elaborate on what kind of support he thinks Soros is giving Bragg.
In his post on Thursday, Trump also appealed to his supporters to sympathize with him, writing: "If the Democrats can do this to President Trump, they can do it to you."
Trump also falsely claimed the investigation is only happening because he's ahead in the polls "by a large margin against both Democrats and Republicans."
There is no evidence that Trump's polling has factored into Bragg's ongoing investigation — the DA's office has been looking into the case for years. Trump was named as "Individual-1" in the 2018 charging documents for his former personal lawyer and turned nemesis, Michael Cohen.
Cohen pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges related to the hush money payments scheme. He was sentenced in December 2018 to three years in prison and was disbarred in February 2019 by the New York Supreme Court.
Trump is privately beefing up his staff so he can ramp up attacks against Bragg, The New York Times reported, citing two people close to Trump. Part of the Trump camp's game plan is to spread allegations that President Joe Biden is behind Bragg's investigation, per The Times.
There is now a real chance that Trump may be criminally indicted in New York. Bragg is investigating whether Trump's payments to Daniels violate New York election and document laws and if it should be considered an illegal Trump campaign expense.
Trump has consistently denied allegations that he had an affair with Daniels. He also denied that he paid her $130,000 worth of hush money to keep quiet about the relationship before the 2016 election.
Cohen finished testifying in front of a New York grand jury on Wednesday.
"At the end of the day, Donald Trump needs to be held accountable for his dirty deeds, if in fact, that's the way that the facts play out," Cohen said on Wednesday.
A spokesman for Trump and representatives for Bragg at the Manhattan District Attorney's office did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.