Furious Trump demands Alvin Bragg ‘indict himself’ and ‘resign’ for ‘illegally leaking’ details of indictment that include 34 felony counts and NO mugshot or handcuffs – just hours before his Manhattan arraignment
- Donald Trump on Monday night accused the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, of having ‘illegally leaked’ the ‘pathetic Indictment against me’
- A source within Bragg’s office described the indictment to Michael Isikoff, a reporter at Yahoo News
- Isikoff reported that Trump will be charged with 34 felonies, but will not be handcuffed or have his mugshot taken: Trump said Isikoff should be charged
Furious Donald Trump went on a scathing rampage on Monday night after details of his indictment were ‘illegally’ leaked – and he demanded Manhattan’s district attorney resign as a result.
Trump, who is staying at his infamous Trump Tower in New York City ahead of Tuesday’s historic arraignment, called for DA Alvin Bragg to prosecute himself after he allegedly handed the indictment plans to Yahoo journalist Michael Isikoff.
The new report claims that Trump will face a total of 34 felonies tomorrow. It also described details the charges – which will be officially unsealed on Tuesday.
The former president will not be subjected to taking a mugshot, nor will he be handcuffed or be placed in a jail sell after his court hearing, Yahoo reports.
In a damning post, Trump wrote on Truth Social: ‘Wow! District Attorney Bragg just illegally LEAKED the various points, and complete information, on the pathetic Indictment against me. I know the reporter and so, unfortunately, does he.
Former President Donald Trump is seen on Monday afternoon arriving at Trump Tower (left). He flew to New York on Monday aboard his 757 accompanied by several aides, but not by former first lady Melania Trump. Trump on Monday evening erupted in anger at the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg (right)
A number of aides accompanied the former president to New York on Monday, but Melania and Barron Trump were missing from the crowd
‘This means that he MUST BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED. Now, if he wants to really clean up his reputation, he will do the honorable thing and, as District Attorney, INDICT HIMSELF.
‘He will go down in Judicial history, and his Trump Hating wife will be, I am sure, very proud of him!’
Trump has for several days been attacking Bragg’s wife of 20 years, Jamila Ponton-Bragg, and accusing her of being a driving force in her husband’s decision to press charges.
‘In March 2022 – BEFORE Manhattan grand jury began hearing evidence — DA Alvin Bragg’s wife Jamila retweeted a report that claimed that her husband “has Trump nailed on felonies,”‘ Trump wrote on Truth Social last week.
Jamila Bragg has since made her Twitter account private.
Trump then continued attacking Bragg himself, and demanding he resign.
‘D.A. BRAGG JUST ILLEGALLY LEAKED THE 33 points of Indictment,’ the 76-year-old said.
‘There are no changes or surprises from those he leaked days ago directly out of the Grand Jury.
READ MORE: Trump’s lawyers believe a Manhattan judge will impose a GAG order on Monday that will BAN him talking about his Tuesday arrest in NYC
‘No Crime by Trump.
‘What a MESS. Bragg should resign, NOW!’
The indictment was filed on Thursday, and the broad contours of it were widely reported.
It was also widely expected that Trump would not be handcuffed, and would not have a mugshot taken, for fear of it being published. New York, unlike many states, does not make mugshots public.
Michael Isikoff, the veteran reporter who now works for Yahoo News, was previously the national investigative correspondent for NBC News. Before then he was known for his work at Newsweek, in particular amid the War on Terror.
He had the scoop of Monica Lewinsky’s affair with Bill Clinton, but Newsweek’s editors declined to go ahead, and so it was filed on the Drudge Report the next day.
Isikoff, in his Monday evening report into the Trump case, said there would be 34 charges.
He said all would be felonies, for falsification of business records.
Isikoff cited ‘a source who has been briefed on the procedures for the arraignment of the former president.’
It is unusual for falsification of business records to be prosecuted as a felony: they are normally considered misdemeanors.
Bragg’s office has filed all the charges as Class E felonies – the lowest level of felonies in the New York State penal code – on the grounds that the conduct was intended to conceal another underlying crime, according to Isikoff’s source.
A conviction for the Class E felony of falsifying business records can result in a prison term of up to four years, but that is considered unlikely.
It remains unclear what the underlying crime that escalated Trump’s alleged misdemeanors to felonies is.
The indictment will be officially unsealed on Tuesday, the website reported.
It is believed to be connected to campaign finance violations, related to the hush-money payment of $130,000 given to porn star Stormy Daniels in the run up to the 2016 election.
New York is bracing for possible protests.
Police began building barricades along the edge of the sidewalks around Trump Tower and the Manhattan Criminal Court building downtown at the weekend.
On Monday in Florida, his motorcade pulled up to his jet and the former president boarded alone, before campaign staff and lawyers followed him up the rear steps.
Trump arrives at Palm Beach International Airport to board his plane for a flight to New York on Monday afternoon. He is expected to present himself to authorities on Tuesday
Trump landed in New York on Monday afternoon before his motorcade made the journey to his property in the heart of the Big Apple
Trump’s private plane sits on the tarmac at LaGuardia Airport with the Rikers Island jail in the background
Crowds gathered outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue on Monday
The 45th President is pictured walking into his Manhattan property on Monday afternoon as he prepares to surrender to authorities on Tuesday
A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former president Donald Trump over hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels
After leaving office, his presidential motorcade was trimmed down to about four vehicles. But on Monday it was bulked by extra SUVs carrying staff.
His campaign managers Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, as well as senior adviser Jason Miller, and spokesman Steven Cheung, were traveling with him, along with his son Eric.
His lawyers have said he will enter a plea of not guilty and his legal team is preparing to add a constitutional expert amid fears that the judge in the case will impose a gag order.
On Monday his legal team also issued a plea to the judge to ban cameras from the courtroom and hired top defense attorney Todd Blanche to boost their defense.
‘I will be leaving Mar-a-Lago on Monday at 12 noon, heading to Trump Tower in New York,’ the former president posted on Sunday night.
‘On Tuesday morning I will be going to, believe it or not, the Courthouse. America was not supposed to be this way!’
Court officials say he is due to arraigned at 2:15pm on Tuesday.
He is then expected to return to his Mar-a-Lago home where he plans to make a speech in the evening.
Key dates in 2024 election while Trump faces indictment
April 15, 2023: Quarterly campaign finance report due
July 15, 2023: Quarterly campaign finance report due
August 2023: First GOP presidential debate
August 10, 2023: Iowa State Fair
October 15, 2023: Quarterly campaign finance report due
February 5, 2024: Iowa Caucuses
February 13, 2024: New Hampshire primary
July 15, 2024: Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Source: Read Full Article