Former President Donald Trump’s Manhattan criminal trial concluded with a historic conviction, and on the following day, Trump continued to repeat false and misleading claims that framed the legal verdict as a partisan political attack. Trump claimed that President Biden was behind the trial, but this claim is false as Biden had no direct influence over the case, which was handled by the Manhattan district attorney’s office in New York. Trump also falsely claimed to be under a gag order that had not been lifted at that time, and he criticized the judge overseeing the case, Justice Merchan, as being highly conflicted, which was an exaggeration by Trump.
Trump also falsely claimed that when current Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg came into office, he said the case against Trump was ridiculous and only pursued it after Trump announced his candidacy for president. However, Bragg had inherited the case from a previous prosecutor, Cyrus Vance Jr., and had been working on the indictment before Trump’s candidacy announcement. Trump targeted Bragg during the trial, frequently mentioning a donation from George Soros, but it was found that Soros had not donated to Bragg’s campaign and had no personal connection to him. Trump’s repeated attacks on Bragg were linked to unsubstantiated claims about Soros’s involvement in the campaign.
In regards to the gag order, Justice Merchan had imposed restrictions on Trump’s ability to discuss certain aspects of the case, including court staff and witnesses, after Trump repeatedly invoked the judge’s daughter on social media. Despite violations of the gag order by Trump, he was still able to criticize Bragg and Merchan, as well as speak on specific aspects of the case. Merchan denied Trump’s request for recusal, as he deemed the political contributions made by the judge and his daughter did not impact his ability to carry out his duties. A panel of judges from the New York Appellate Division upheld Merchan’s decision on this matter, concluding that there was no conflict of interest.
Overall, Trump’s claims about Biden’s involvement in the trial, the gag order, the conflict of interest of the judge, and the motivations behind Alvin Bragg’s pursuit of the case were found to be false or misleading. Despite facing a conviction in his criminal trial, Trump continued to propagate these claims that sought to undermine the legal process and depict the verdict as a politically motivated attack. The investigation and legal proceedings against Trump were conducted within the confines of the justice system and were not influenced by any external political forces, contrary to what Trump alleged in his statements following the conclusion of the trial.
