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The Playbook Podcast

Mar. 21, 2023: Unpacking Alvin Bragg's case against Trump

The Playbook Podcast

POLITICO

Daily News, Politics, Government, News

4.2614 Ratings

🗓️ 21 March 2023

⏱️ 7 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

On the afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021, as pro-Trump rioters were ransacking the Capitol in Washington, prosecutors in Manhattan gathered on Zoom to discuss Donald Trump's bookkeeping practices.  More than two years later, while state and federal criminal investigations into Trump’s culpability for the events of Jan. 6 continue, it is the Manhattan probe that is set to produce the first Trump indictment — as soon as this week. While we don’t know for sure what crime — or crimes — that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg will charge Trump with, the weight of available evidence suggests Trump will be charged with violating a New York state law against falsifying business records.  Specifically, Bragg is apparently preparing to argue that Trump created fictitious records during the scheme to pay off Stormy Daniels in October 2016 after she threatened to expose their alleged affair. The return of the hush money caper to the white-hot center of American politics has a lot of people scratching their heads and puzzling over some basic questions: Of all the Trump scandals, why is this the one that’s going to get him arrested? Didn’t authorities already rule out any culpability for Trump in that case? And isn’t Bragg’s legal theory hopelessly flawed? To understand how one of the OG Trump scandals returned from the dead to ensnare Trump seven years after Daniels got her $130,000, we need to review the case’s complicated history. Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook newsletter Raghu Manavalan is the host and senior editor of POLITICO's Playbook Daily Briefing.Jenny Ament is the executive producer of POLITICO Audio.

Transcript

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0:00.0

What's up Playbookers? I'm Rogo Monovalin. The history behind a possible Trump indictment.

0:07.6

Here's the big thing we're watching on Tuesday, March 21st.

0:11.6

On the afternoon of January 6th, 2021, as pro-Trump rioters were ransacking the Capitol in Washington,

0:20.0

prosecutors in Manhattan gathered on Zoom

0:22.6

to discuss Donald Trump's bookkeeping practices. More than two years later, while state and

0:28.4

criminal investigations into Trump's culpability for the events of January 6th continue,

0:34.1

it is the Manhattan probe that is said to produce the first Trump indictment,

0:39.1

likely this week. What we don't know for sure is what crime or crimes that Manhattan DA

0:45.1

Alvin Bragg will charge Trump with. The weight of available evidence suggests Trump will

0:50.3

be charged with violating a New York state law against pulsifying business records.

0:56.1

Specifically, Bragg is apparently preparing to argue that Trump created fictitious records

1:01.7

during the scheme to pay off Stormy Daniels in October 2016 after she threatened to expose their alleged affair.

1:09.6

The return of the hush money caper to the white

1:12.9

hot center of American politics has a lot of people scratching their heads and puzzling over

1:18.5

some basic questions. Of all the Trump's scandals, why is this the one that's going to get him

1:24.2

arrested? Didn't authorities already rule out any culpability for Trump in that case?

1:29.5

And isn't Bragg's legal theory hopelessly flawed?

1:32.9

To understand how one of the OG Trump scandals returned from the dead to ensnare Trump

1:38.5

seven years after Daniels got our $130,000, we need to review the case's complicated history.

1:46.0

Back in 2021, inside the Manhattan DA's office, then run by Sy Vance, the Daniels saga was known as the zombie case.

1:54.5

It was dead and then brought back to life by Mark Pomerantz, who led the Manatin DA's Trump investigation. When he started the job in early 2021, Pomerantz, who led the Manhattan DA's Trump investigation.

2:01.8

When he started the job in early 2021, Pomerantz first dug into the hush money payments

...

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