The Heritage Foundation Responds to Wrongful Conviction in President Donald J. Trump’s Trial

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The Heritage Foundation Responds to Wrongful Conviction in President Donald J. Trump’s Trial

May 30, 2024 2 min read

WASHINGTON—Today, a jury in Manhattan convicted former Pres. Donald J. Trump on all the charges brought by Alvin Bragg.  In this miscarriage of justice, Bragg claimed that Trump committed 34 felony violations under New York law for listing as legal expenses in the Trump organization’s business records items that Bragg claimed were actually campaign-related expenses.

Heritage President Dr. Kevin Roberts made the following statement: 

“This verdict is a travesty to our republic. This was a bogus prosecution engineered by President Biden and his weaponized DOJ that has made the New York justice system look like that of a third-world country where government officials engage in partisan prosecutions against their political opponents. The chief witness was a convicted perjurer who admitted to hating and stealing from his former client. Neither the Federal Election Commission nor the U.S. Department of Justice initiated any enforcement proceedings against Trump for the simple reason that the settlement payment that was at issue in the case was not a campaign-related expense under federal law. 

“Judge Merchan tainted this jury since day one by ignoring nearly every motion and objection by the defense and refusing to allow crucial testimony in this show trial. It is shameful that the members of this jury apparently allowed their partisan bias to overrule the interests of justice to render an unfair and unjustified verdict. This is election interference carried out by a Soros-supported rogue prosecutor.  

“President Trump and his legal team can and will raise the significant issues with this case on appeal, which should result in overturning this conviction and justice finally being served. Nonetheless, this will take time and effort away from President Trump’s campaign for the presidency, which was the ultimate goal of this political witch hunt. Americans everywhere should be outraged at the weaponization of our justice system.”