Manhattan DA Bragg privately warns of intimidation after Trump calls for protest
His office appears poised to bring criminal charges against Trump in connection with a hush-money payment made to a porn actress, Stormy Daniels.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg offered a private retort to Donald Trump’s message Saturday urging supporters to protest his expected indictment, telling office employees in an email that “we do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York,” according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.
“Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threats against the office will be fully investigated and that the proper safeguards are in place so all 1,600 of us have a secure work environment,” Bragg wrote, adding that the office has been coordinating with the New York Police Department and Office of Court Administration, the administrative arm of the court system in New York.
Bragg added that “as with all of our investigations, we will continue to apply the law evenly and fairly, and speak publicly only when appropriate.” In his email, Bragg didn’t identify Trump by name, referring only to the “public comments surrounding an ongoing investigation by this office.”
A spokeswoman for Bragg’s office declined to comment.
On Saturday morning, the former president and 2024 GOP presidential candidate told supporters on his social media platform to “Protest, take our nation back!” citing “illegal leaks” about the investigation, which he said indicated he would be arrested Tuesday. Though a person familiar with the Trump operations said they were not actively organizing protests, Trump’s comments raised alarms about how his followers might be incited to act.
Bragg’s office appears poised to bring criminal charges against Trump in connection with a hush-money payment made to a porn actress, Stormy Daniels, at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign. A flurry of activity related to the grand jury investigation into the hush-money issue, including recent testimony by Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer who arranged the payment to Daniels, has signaled an indictment is likely to happen soon.