(Ken Silva, Headline USA) During Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s controversial prosecution Donald Trump, the presidential frontrunner sought to have campaign finance expert Bradley A. Smith testify about why Bragg’s case was unlawful.
Keeping in line with his many rulings against Trump, Judge Juan Merchan denied the defendant’s request to have Smith provide meaningful testimony during the trial. A New York City jury later convicted Trump in May, in a move that sent the GOP’s candidate poll numbers soaring.
While Smith wasn’t allowed to testify at Trump’s trial, he was given the opportunity to do so Wednesday at a House Weaponization Committee hearing.
Smith started his testimony by addressing a common misconception: While many have reported that Judge Merchan blocked all of his testimony, that wasn’t quite what happened, he said.
“The judge would have allowed me to testify. However, it was clear from his pre-trial rulings that such testimony would be limited to little, or perhaps nothing, more than reading portions of the statute to the jury,” he told the committee.
“It is fair to say that Judge Merchan refused to allow any meaningful testimony that would have contextualized the charges against Mr. Trump and provided valuable factual information to the jury, and I believe his restrictive rulings were erroneous.”
Smith then launched into his explanation for why Bragg’s case against Trump had no legal standing.
“As a practical matter then, having Michael Cohen front the money for a non-disclosure agreement between Mr. Trump and Stormy Daniels could have had no influence on the 2016 election. This undercuts the entire theory of the case offered by the prosecution,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the House GOP continues to investigate Bragg for his politically motivated case.
Bragg was originally set to testify to Congress about his case this Friday—the day after Trump was set to be sentenced—but a delay in Trump’s sentencing has apparently also delayed Bragg’s testimony.
The House Judiciary is also demanding communications between the Justice Department and Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, New York AG Letitia James and Fulton County DA Fani Willis about their cases against former President Donald Trump.
So far, Attorney General Merrick Garland has refused to comply with Congress’s demands.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
