'No basis for that': CNN fact-checker debunks 4 of Trump’s biggest lies about his trial

18 April 2024

The 12-member jury in former President Donald Trump's Manhattan criminal trial has been empaneled along with one alternate juror, with the remaining five alternates to be selected on Friday.

Following jury selection, Trump attempted once again to frame the trial as a politically motivated "witch hunt" in remarks made outside of the courtroom. CNN fact checker Daniel Dale methodically debunked those claims one by one.

While speaking to CNN host Jake Tapper, Dale went through each one of Trump's claims and explained how they each failed to pass muster. He began by addressing the former president's claim that President Joe Biden was secretly orchestrating the prosecution of his political rival in Manhattan and that his Department of Justice was puppeteering Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case.

"There is no basis for that," Dale said. "That appears to be a reference to a former Department of Justice official who went to work for the DA's office, but there's no sign that that was anything but his own employment decision. In fact, this former official — Matthew Colangelo — had previously been a colleague of DA Bragg's, so he rejoined his old colleague."

Dale also said Trump's assertion that Biden was a "crook" and who "should be on trial" was false. He cited House Republicans' own failed efforts to impeach him as evidence of Trump's claims lacking merit.

"[They found] no evidence of impeachable offenses, high crimes and misdemeanors, let alone criminal offenses," Dale said.

Trump also held a pile of papers containing headlines defending himself, which the former president showed as proof that many in the media agreed with his claims about the charges against him being spurious and overblown. However, Dale pointed out that when Googling the headlines Trump mentioned, they were largely written by fellow Trump supporters. He cited specific articles by a Fox News columnist, the far-right Daily Caller and the Republican-leaning National Review.

"There are some liberal scholars, legal experts, publications who have raised questions about this case, but that piled he showed was largely his usual friends, the usual suspects, praising Trump, defending Trump in the conservative media," Dale said.

With the jury now sworn in, the first-ever criminal trial of a former president of the United States will officially kick off next week. The trial is expected to last anywhere from four to six weeks, and will feature witness testimony from Trump's former personal lawyer Michael Cohen, former senior White House advisor Hope Hicks and adult film star and producer Stormy Daniels, among others.

Trump is fighting 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, which the prosecution claims done to cover up hush money payments to women who claimed to have extramarital affairs with him. Bragg is arguing that because the payments were allegedly made to keep those women silent prior to the 2016 presidential election that they constituted an illegal campaign expenditure.

Watch Dale's segment below, or by clicking this link.

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