Trump’s Lawyers May Seek to ‘Move’ NY Criminal Case to Staten Island
Former US President Donald Trump arrives to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2022 (CPAC) in Orlando, Florida. 
InternationalIndiaAfricaFormer president Donald Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury on March 30 over his alleged involvement in hush money payments made to adult star Stormy Daniels in 2016 ahead of that year’s presidential election. Ex-POTUS is reportedly to appear in court on April 4 for his arraignment, and is believed to be planning filing legal challenges.As ex-US President Donald Trump reportedly faces a court appearance over his indictment sometime on April 4, his team of legal experts is said to be eying New York’s borough of Staten Island as a more favorable venue for a potential criminal case than Manhattan.Trump’s lawyers, along with his advisers and allies, believe that the southernmost of New York City’s 5 boroughs, known to be more conservative, might offer Trump a fairer, less biased trial, according to sources cited by a US publication.
"There is no way he gets a fair jury," an adviser was cited as saying in reference to Manhattan's predominately Democratic-voting population.
However, Trump’s lawyers will purportedly hold off from any definite decisions on attempting to relocate the case until familiarizing themselves with the charges in the sealed indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.On March 30, a grand jury in Manhattan voted to indict the Republican former POTUS in alleged connection with hush payments made to an adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. The indictment is still under seal, but, according to reports, it includes over 30 counts related to business fraud.According to media reports, the top charge in the indictment secured by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is that of falsifying business records “in the first degree.” The latter is a class E felony and is considered more serious than a misdemeanor charge. A Class E felony in New York can result in a sentence of between one year and five years.
AmericasIvanka Trump ‘Pained’ for Father & Country over Dad’s IndictmentYesterday, 17:58 GMTDonald Trump has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, as well as the alleged affair with Daniels, while slamming Bragg and other Democrats after news of the indictment broke.
"I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden… The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party – united and strong – will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" the former president said in a statement on March 30.
Trump, who is expected to appear in court on Tuesday for his arraignment, according to US media reports, also vowed he would appeal the indictment.Meanwhile, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is Trump’s possible Republican rival in the run up to the 2024 presidential election, also weighed in on the dubious legal accusations targeting Trump. DeSantis let loose a barrage of punches targeting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg – the Democrat whose election campaign was bankrolled by billionaire regime-change funder George Soros. Slamming the DA as nothing short of a “menace to society,” he went on:“This guy is all about politics. His whole thing is he doesn’t want people to be in jail, he wants to downgrade felonies to misdemeanors… And then he turns around, does a flimsy indictment against a former president of the United States. All these legal gymnastics to act like this is a felony – when almost every other time, he’s trying to take the felonies and downgrade them.” The 44-year-old governor had previously stated that Florida will not assist in an extradition request for former President Donald Trump due to questionable circumstances surrounding Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who was stretching the law to target a political opponent. It should be noted that this is the first time a court has sought to indict a former US President, wielding for this purpose an array of highly questionable legal accusations.
Sputnik ExplainsDid Soros Pull the Strings to Get Trump Indicted?Yesterday, 08:34 GMT