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Salon
Salon
Politics
Igor Derysh

Trump rages after felony charges leak

Former President Donald Trump called for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to resign or "indict himself" after the charges against him leaked on Monday.

Trump will be charged with 34 felony counts of falsification of business records, a source briefed on the arraignment plans told Yahoo News reporter Michael Isikoff. None of the charges are misdemeanors.

Trump will be placed under arrest and be informed of the charges against him when he enters the Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday, the source told Isikoff. A New York City police arrest report summarizing the charges will then be entered into the court system before Trump is led into a courtroom and formally arraigned.

Trump will not be put in handcuffs and will not be placed in a jail cell, the source said. He is also not expected to be subjected to a mug shot after the DA's office, which has been in contact with Secret Service and court officials, determined there was no reason for a mug shot.

All of the charges against Trump are Class E felonies, the lowest level of felonies in New York state, according to the report. While falsification of business records can be charged as a misdemeanor, it can be bumped up to a felony if it was intended to conceal another crime.

The felony carries up to four years in prison but "no one gets jail time for that as a first offender," a New York law enforcement official told Yahoo News.

The evidence that escalated the charges remains sealed and will not be released until the indictment is unsealed when Trump is arraigned. It is believed to be linked to the 2016 hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

A Trump spokesman told the outlet that the former president's lawyers have not seen or been briefed on the details of the indictment. Trump took to Truth Social to lash out over the report.

"Wow! District Attorney Bragg just illegally LEAKED the various points, and complete information, on the pathetic Indictment against me," Trump claimed without any evidence that Bragg had anything to do with the leak. "I know the reporter and so, unfortunately, does he. This means that he MUST BE IMMEDIATELY INDICTED. Now, if he wants to really clean up his reputation, he will do the honorable thing and, as District Attorney, INDICT HIMSELF. He will go down in Judicial history, and his Trump Hating wife will be, I am sure, very proud of him!"

"D.A. BRAGG JUST ILLEGALLY LEAKED THE 33 points of Indictment," Trump wrote in a subsequent post. "There are no changes or surprises from those he leaked days ago directly out of the Grand Jury. No Crime by Trump. What a MESS. Bragg should resign, NOW!"

Trump, who has repeatedly attacked the wives of prosecutors investigating him, also hit out at special counsel Jack Smith after the Washington Post reported on Monday that his team has obtained evidence of obstruction by the former president in the Mar-a-Lago documents case.

"Speaking of LEAKS, Special "Prosecutor" Jack Smith (What did his name used to be?) leaked massive amounts of information to The Washington ComPost. This is illegal, and I assume this Radical Left Lunatic, much to the chagrin of his Trump Hating wife and family, will be PROSECUTED?" Trump wrote, claiming that "Biden is guilty of Obstruction, I am not!"

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