Trump critics slam DA Bragg's case as 'weakest of sauces' after former president indicted
The strength of Bragg’s charges has come under major scrutiny since being unsealed on Tuesday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Some of former President Trump’s fiercest Republican critics are slamming Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against the former commander in chief as "weak sauce."
Trump pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to 34 felony counts alleging the falsification of business records linked to hush-money payments during the 2016 presidential race.
Bragg’s charges have spurred debate over the entire situation, from the political and societal ramifications of charging a former president to the strength of the charges themselves.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah – who accused Trump of inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 – said he believes the former president’s "character and conduct make him unfit for office" but that the charges were an "overreach" by Bragg. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The strength of Bragg’s charges has come under major scrutiny since being unsealed on Tuesday.
Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah – who accused Trump of inciting an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 – said he believes the former president’s "character and conduct make him unfit for office" but that the charges were an "overreach" by Bragg.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I believe President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office. Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda," Romney said on Tuesday.
"No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law," he continued. "The prosecutor’s overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public’s faith in our justice system."
Romney said the "charges and evidence will be duly considered and the outcome decided by a jury with an obligation to fulfill its responsibility with the utmost care and impartiality" and that the "American voters will ultimately render their own judgment on the former president’s political future."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Finally, it is also incumbent on all elected leaders to discourage violence and anger in response to this situation," Romney added.
Romney said the "charges and evidence will be duly considered and the outcome decided by a jury with an obligation to fulfill its responsibility with the utmost care and impartiality" and that the "American voters will ultimately render their own judgment on the former president’s political future." (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Other outspoken Trump critics also questioned the strength of Bragg’s charges, with one calling them "the weakest of sauces."
"According to the indictment, the only tangential relationship of the payments to Trump Org (ie, the ‘business’ in ‘business records’) was that Trump Org folks cut the check and processed payment," former Republican Rep. Peter Meijer of Michigan tweeted.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"All funds were DJT’s personal funds," Meijer wrote. "Not just weak sauce- the weakest of sauces."
"After reading DA Bragg’s indictment of Trump and accompanying statement of facts, I’m stunned any prosecutor would move forward with this," independent former Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan wrote.
"It’s even flimsier than we were led to believe," Amash wrote. "Thirty-four stacked counts, bootstrapped to an unstated crime, to manufacture felony charges."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meanwhile, other Trump critics are trying to move away from the strength of the charges and are making a moralistic argument, with former Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., attacking Christian leaders supporting Trump amid the charges.
"Regardless of the strength or not of this indictment, Trump should be ashamed," Kinzinger tweeted. "And any Christian leader still supporting him needs to explain to their congregation why what he did is ok, with no contrition."
Trump pleaded not guilty to his charges on Tuesday after flying from his Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago to Manhattan a day earlier.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The former president flew back to Florida following his formal charging and responded to the allegations in a Tuesday night speech.
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In the speech, he called for Bragg, whom he described as a "criminal," to face charges over leaked details of the indictment.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Trump also suggested the case was brought to interfere with the 2024 presidential election, and said it had been "hell" on his family.
Fox News Digital's Brandon Gillespie contributed reporting.