According to the Federalist, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office has been accused of deleting critical phone records in their case against former President Donald Trump.
The deleted evidence is linked to Trump's ongoing legal proceedings concerning payments made during the 2016 election campaign to silence Stormy Daniels about an alleged affair.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s paralegal, Jaden Jarmel-Schneider, testified that three pages of phone records between Michael Cohen and Keith Davidson from 2018 were deleted by Bragg’s office.
These deletions were not disclosed to Trump’s legal team, raising serious concerns about the integrity of the evidence presented. Other phone records involving communications between Stormy Daniels' manager, Gina Rodriguez, and then-National Enquirer editor Dylan Howard were also deleted.
Despite the deletions, the altered call records were submitted into evidence. Tampering with evidence is considered a class E felony under New York law, making these allegations particularly grave.
The deleted records are seen as potentially pivotal to the defense, as they could shed light on the communications and intentions surrounding the payments made during the 2016 election.
Alvin Bragg, who campaigned on a platform that included targeting Trump, indicted the former president in April 2023 on 34 felony charges related to allegedly falsifying business records. These charges are connected to the payments made to silence Daniels. Trump's defense team has been actively contesting these charges, arguing that the evidence has been tampered with and that the deletions were intentional.
Trump’s legal team requested a mistrial based on the evidence tampering, but Judge Juan Merchan denied this request. Judge Merchan also limited the testimony of former Federal Election Commission Chairman Bradley Smith regarding campaign finance-related issues, which the defense had hoped would bolster their case.
Donald Trump Jr. expressed his outrage on social media, highlighting what he sees as a double standard in the justice system. His comment on X (formerly Twitter) reads:
Insanity! How on earth is this not a felony committed by Bragg and his minions? It sure would be if team Trump did it. I’d love if we had actual journalists that would report on this ongoing travesty. Sadly, proper journalism is dead. They’re just scribes for the regime.
The accusations against Bragg's office have sparked significant controversy, raising severe legal and ethical questions about the integrity of the judicial process.
These developments are likely to influence public perception of the case. The broader implications extend beyond the immediate legal battle, highlighting the contentious charges against Trump and the polarized political climate. Many see the evidence deletion as a breach of legal protocol and fairness.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is accused of deleting key phone records related to the case against former President Donald Trump without informing his legal team.
These records involve communications about payments made during the 2016 election to silence Stormy Daniels. The deletions have raised significant legal and ethical concerns, potentially impacting the trial's fairness and public perception.
