'Not very difficult': Former federal prosecutor explains how Alvin Bragg can convict Trump

18 May 2024

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's team of prosecutors will have the wind at their sails as they approach the closing arguments portion of former President Donald Trump's criminal trial. That's according to a veteran former federal prosecutor who has tried cases on behalf of the Department of Justice for nearly a decade.

In a Saturday interview with MSNBC host Katie Phang, Barbara McQuade — who served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan between 2010 and 2017 — said getting the jury to return a guilty verdict against Trump will be relatively straightforward. She said that when first training for her job, her instructors said most not guilty verdicts in cases the DOJ brought happened because they were "complex white-collar cases" in which jury didn't understand the nature of the charges. She noted that that isn't the case in Manhattan.

"It's actually not very difficult, but the prosecution does need to make clear the jury understands that," McQuade said, adding that jury instructions from Judge Juan Merchan will play a key role.

"The court itself is going to explain the law here, that there does need to be this falsification of business records with intent to defraud by... concealing another crime," she said. "It doesn't need to prove that the other crime was committed, just that there was an intent to do so."

The former president has been in trial for the past five weeks, defending himself from charges that he orchestrated a hush money payment scheme in which he allegedly directed his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, to buy the silence of various women claiming to have hd extramarital affairs with Trump prior to the 2016 election. And as McQuade pointed out, Bragg's 34-count felony indictment of Trump isn't for the hush money payments themselves, but for allegedly falsifying business records to cover up the payments, which he characterized as illegal campaign contributions.

"Of course, this other crime here is this campaign finance violation, the contribution by Michael Cohen that exceeds the $2,000 limit. The contribution by [American Media, Inc.], by a corporation that is a violation of the law," she added. "And so the intent to do, that is what matters, not the actual commission."

The trial is expected to pick up where it left off last week, with defense counsel Todd Blanche cross-examining Cohen on the witness stand and attempting to discredit his testimony by pointing out the times he publicly lied. As one of Bragg's key witnesses, Cohen's perceived credibility by jurors will likely be instrumental to whether Trump is ultimately convicted.

The prosecution isn't expected to call any more witnesses and will rest its case once it finishes its redirect with Cohen. Trump is not expected to take the stand in his own defense, and journalist David Cay Johnston said if he did so, it would likely be against the advice of his lawyers.

After witness testimony, both sides will make their closing arguments to the jury before it deliberates to decide a verdict.

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

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