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Former President Donald Trump continued his attacks on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Saturday, a day after warning of “death and destruction” if he were indicted over alleged financial fraud and hush money payments he made to a porn star in 2016.
During a campaign stop in Waco, Texas, Trump accused Bragg of “prosecutorial misconduct” for investigating allegations he paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair weeks before the 2016 election. Court records show his company, the Trump Organization, claimed the transaction was a legal services fee to his former fixer Michael Cohen.
“The district attorney of New York… is investigating me for something that was not a crime, not a misdemeanor, not an affair,” Trump said.
The remarks came a day after Trump called Bragg a “degenerate psychopath” on social media and posted a photo of himself wielding a baseball bat beside a photo of Bragg. On Friday, an envelope containing white powder was mailed to Bragg’s office, prompting an immediate investigation. Police later said the powder was not a dangerous substance.
The threats received swift condemnation from civil rights leaders and local elected officials.
“For Trump not to denounce violence but in fact pose with a bat toward the guy investigating him, and then puts in writing that there would be ‘death and destruction,’ those of us in this community cannot stand by and let that go any further,” said Rev. Al Sharpton at a prayer vigil on Saturday, the Daily News reported.
In a joint statement, Sharpton, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and other leaders denounced Trump’s “racist” and “anti-American” attacks on Bragg, who is Black. They called the first-term Manhattan DA “a respectful, courageous, ethical and thoughtful lawyer.”
Bragg told his staff last week that he would “not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York.”
“Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against our office will be fully investigated and that all the proper safeguards are in place so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment,” he added in an email to staff first reported by Politico.
Trump was impeached for a second time in 2021 after stoking a far-right insurrection at the U.S. Capitol but is running once again for the Republican presidential nomination. His potential indictment in Manhattan hinges on money he paid Daniels in exchange for her silence about their alleged affair heading into the 2016 presidential election. Cohen sent Daniels the money and was later reimbursed by Trump in a transaction that was labeled a business expense. Bragg inherited the case from his predecessor, former Manhattan DA Cy Vance.
Last Saturday, Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social that he would be arrested three days later and urged his supporters to “protest.” The arrest and indictment didn’t happen last week, though that didn’t stop supporters, protesters and vendors from turning out around Manhattan Criminal Court.
The potential indictment in Manhattan is just one of the legal obstacles Trump faces. Others include an election interference investigation in Georgia and Department of Justice probes over his alleged mishandling of classified documents and role in the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection.
Bragg’s office would not comment on the indictment. Grand jurors are scheduled to return to Manhattan Criminal Court on Monday.
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