An interesting argument was made by Republicans today.
Three powerful House Republican committee chairs are ignoring the fact that Team Trump derailed the federal investigation into the hush money scandal.
www.msnbc.com
When three powerful House Republican committee chairs wrote to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg yesterday, they seemed quite animated about a Donald Trump indictment that does not yet exist. The GOP lawmakers even argued that Bragg shouldn’t bring charges because federal prosecutors looked at the same evidence and passed on the case.
What they said in that letter:
“By July 2019 ... federal prosecutors determined that no additional people would be charged alongside [Michael] Cohen. ... [Y]our apparent decision to pursue criminal charges where federal authorities declined to do so requires oversight....”
They are claiming that Manhattan NY DA Bragg's motivation for investigating and possibly indicting Trump is political, rather than based upon their findings in their investigation.
In their view, because the DOJ decided not to press charges, Trump is innocent. Never mind that NY performed its own investigation, had its own grand jury and will make its own decision based upon its own work. Also never mind the reason why the DOJ did not pursue charges after they finished investigating what happened:
What they actually found was that Cohen acted at Trump’s direction and to Trump’s benefit. Why didn’t prosecutors pursue the matter further? According to Geoffrey Berman — the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, who wrote a book about his experiences — it’s because there was political interference from other Trump appointees who ordered prosecutors to end their investigation.
In a nutshell, some House Republican leaders are accusing Bragg of doing that which Republicans did. A classic propaganda tactic.
And a parting shot at the cynics out there. Should this go to trial, a jury formed from a random selection of residents in Manhattan NY will not be inherently favorable to Trump.