It turns out Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg is an idiot. Hicks not only delivered testimony that undermined his case, but did so as one of his own witnesses. The only thing he has going for him now is a New York jury that is notorious for ruling against Republicans in general and Donald Trump in particular.

Now, the Manhattan hush money trial of Donald Trump took a dramatic turn. As the former press secretary during the 2016 presidential campaign, Hicks provided testimony that undermined the prosecution’s case.

Hicks explained that Trump’s motive for suppressing salacious stories was to protect his wife, Melania, stating, “Absolutely…I don’t think he wanted anyone in his family to be hurt or embarrassed about anything on the campaign. He wanted them to be proud of him.” This directly contradicted District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s primary claim against Trump, that he paid porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence with the intent to benefit his campaign and influence the election by “unlawful means.”

The account by Hicks supported the findings of a federal investigation that no crimes were committed or campaign finance laws broken. Furthermore, Hicks disparaged Bragg’s planned star witness, Michael Cohen, Trump’s one-time personal lawyer, by saying, “He used to like to call himself Mr. Fix-It, but it was only because he first broke it.” Cohen, a convicted liar who went to prison, has been a target of ridicule from other witnesses as well.

Hicks’ testimony confirmed that Trump was aware of the payments made to Daniels but did not contest it, stating that he followed his lawyer’s advice. However, the payments made were not illegal, and killing negative stories violates no statutes. Moreover, it is not a crime for Trump to know about a non-crime.

The only crime here appears to be Bragg’s politically driven prosecution of Trump, in which he conjured up expired misdemeanors and used a garbage state statute that doesn’t apply to a federal election. The legal wrangling between two lawyers over a legal contract executed on behalf of their clients is what attorneys do every day. Bragg’s charges that Trump falsified business records in 2017 do not amount to a crime since the presidential contest occurred in 2016, making it impossible to complete the intended crime.

The case has been marked by the admission of irrelevant and prejudicial information, such as the infamous “Access Hollywood” tape, which has no bearing on the case. This only serves to smear Trump with information that has no relevance to the charges at hand.

The trial has highlighted the weakness of Bragg’s case and the potential for a boomerang effect, with voters seeing this as a politically motivated attack on Trump. The hope is that the jurors will recognize this as well and deliver a fair verdict.

Sound off about this development on The Liberty Daily Substack.

Trump is confronting 34 felony counts for allegedly falsifying business documents relating to payments to porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence regarding an alleged affair ahead of the 2016 election. Aidala noted that Trump’s signature is present on a check while other key documents were never personally signed by the former president, suggesting the possibility a jury could find “reasonable doubt” over Trump’s involvement when compared to former attorney Michael Cohen, a key witness in Bragg’s case.

“You just have to attack, attack, attack those witnesses and look, what you’ve got to say is, Michael Cohen should be a co-defendant,” Aidala told host Anderson Cooper. “If you believe what the prosecutors just said, Michael Cohen should be a co-defendant, not a witness. He has so many reasons to lie, so many reasons to pin this on someone else, to keep himself out of jail, which he was unable to do in the federal case.”

Cohen, who is a crucial witness for prosecutors, pleaded guilty to giving false statements, as well as charges like tax evasion and campaign finance violations in 2018. Cohen first said he paid Daniels with his personal funds and that neither the Trump campaign nor the Trump Organization paid him back, but he subsequently testified to Congress that the former president directed him to make the payment, which he received reimbursement for, according to Reuters.

“I think [Cohen’s credibility] has a tremendous impact,” he added. “Look, there is paperwork that corroborates the people‘s evidence, and that‘s obviously hurtful for the president. But my understanding is, it’s not paperwork with Donald Trump‘s handwriting on it or his signature on it, except for a check. So the defense could merely be, hey, Michael Cohen did all of this. He never told his client. He just said, look, I need money for this, I need money for that. And you know, one of the witnesses who is going to testify at this trial testified for the feds and he said that the money that was given to Michael Cohen was for Stormy Daniels and for legal fees. That’s a reasonable doubt.”

Trump also faces charges for his handling of classified documents he allegedly kept despite requests to turn them over. The former president is also confronting election interference charges related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

Trump was also indicted in June 2023 over his alleged mishandling of classified documents retained at his residence in Mar-a-Lago. In early August 2023, the former president was hit with another indictment over his alleged attempt to interfere in the 2020 election and alleged role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

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Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has been indicted on 34 state felony counts for allegedly falsifying business records in New York to conceal an alleged “hush money” payment to Daniels about his alleged extramarital affair with her. To support his defense in the case, Trump had sought to subpoena NBC Universal for documents it possessed about Daniels, whose legal name is Stephanie Clifford, in connection with a film it produced about her alleged relations with him, which Justice Juan Merchan of the Supreme Court of New York’s Trial Division denied by granting NBC’s motion to quash the subpoena in a ruling on Friday.

“The instant subpoena is far too broad and seeks general discovery,” wrote Merchan in his four-page ruling. “Defendant claims that the materials sought by the subpoena will establish collusion between NBCU and Daniels relating to the release date of the documentary. Defendant argues that NBCU and Daniels conspired to release the documentary as close to the start date of this trial as possible to prejudice Defendant and maximize their own financial interests.”

Read the judge’s ruling here.

Merchan’s ruling also blocked the subpoena on the grounds that NBC Universal is a media organization, and Trump’s claim did not meet the burdens required by New York Civil Rights Law to do so.

NBC Universal, through its subsidiary Peacock, released the documentary film “Stormy: Being Outspoken Is Not A Crime” on March 8 at the South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. The film chronicles her early life and involvement in controversies regarding Trump, according to a summary by NPR.

Daniels will be testifying in Trump’s criminal trial in New York as a witness for the prosecution, alongside Michael Cohen, a convicted felon and Trump’s former personal attorney.

“Defendant’s claims are purely speculative and unsupported, his subpoena and the demands therein are the very definition of a fishing expedition,” Merchan concluded.

Trump’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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According to fake news CNN:

A grand jury in Manhattan has voted to indict Donald Trump – the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges, according to three sources familiar with the matter.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has been investigating the former president in connection with his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential election.

This story is breaking. We will update with more details as they become available.