by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News July 9, 2024
Former President Donald Trump’s constitutional and legal rights were violated in the New York trial prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, according to a report released Tuesday by the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee and its Weaponization Subcommittee.
“The testimony that the Committee and Select Subcommittee have received makes clear that President Trump’s trial was riddled with constitutional defects – defects that should prompt the New York appellate courts to reverse the verdict. The trial violated basic principles of due process,” the committees conclude in the 35-page report.
The report zeroes in on the legal theory used in the case, arguing that Trump’s defense was hamstrung by the fact that prosecutors never identified the underlying crime that warranted the upgrade of misdemeanor business records charges to felonies.
“Because President Trump had no notice of the specific charges against him, in particular the underlying crime and its essential elements, he did not have a meaningful opportunity to defend himself from those charges,” the report states.
Urgent: Support Free Press Foundation
The report also targets Judge Juan Merchan, pointing to his “egregious legal rulings” before and during the trial as “severe legal and procedural defects” in the case.
The report notes that Merchan informed the jurors during trial that they “did not have to agree on a singular unlawful act” to convict Trump, instead providing three options for what the underlying crime could be without requiring a unanimous agreement.
The committees argue that this novel legal theory violated a key tenet of criminal prosecutions defined by the Supreme Court which clarified that due process requires “notice of the specific charge” and opportunity for the accused to defend themselves against that charge.
Trump was formally charged in April 2023 by Bragg. He was found guilty by a jury in May on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal the hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
House Judiciary Committee: Trump’s NY trial ‘riddled with constitutional defects’ added by Editor Two on July 9, 2024
View all posts by Editor Two →
Source link