On the eve of potential charges against Donald Trump in Manhattan, I have detected a concern among people who want to see the former president held accountable. It’s a concern that, due to the perceived weakness or triviality of the New York case compared to the Georgia and federal probes, it’s a mistake for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to kick things off. But that’s the wrong way to think about it, for multiple reasons.
First, on the relative strength of potential New York, Georgia and federal cases: It’s unusual to know this much about potential prosecutions before charges have even been filed. But despite all we know, it’s still impossible to truly compare the potential charges in each jurisdiction, because we just don’t know what each prosecutor knows and how that knowledge translates to what crimes, if any, they’ll allege Trump has committed. (Trump has denied any wrongdoing in these cases.)
Each case rises or falls on its own. And the order in which each is brought doesn’t matter.
Of course, we’re broadly familiar with the matters. We know that in Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ probe deals with Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Same goes for Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith’s two investigations: one about Jan. 6 and the other about the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. In light of those seemingly grander narratives, there’s a line of thinking that goes: How can you compare Jan. 6 to paying off a porn actress in the Stormy Daniels hush money case that Bragg is reportedly contemplating? Isn’t there some risk to bringing the latter case first, especially if the prosecution blows up in Bragg’s face?
But each case rises or falls on its own. And the order in which each is brought doesn’t matter. If charges are brought first in New York, and if Willis and Smith also plan on bringing charges, they’re not going to wait around to see how Bragg’s entire case unfolds. That…
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