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By Anna Commander
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Former Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. said on Sunday that Donald Trump should be cautious about what he says about current Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in order to avoid more potential charges after being indicted last week.
On Thursday, a Manhattan grand jury indicted the former president following an investigation by Bragg's office into an alleged hush money payment of $130,000 paid by Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her quiet ahead of the 2016 presidential election about an affair she claims she had with Trump in 2006.
The former president has denied having an affair with Daniels and has maintained his innocence in the case, accusing prosecutors of engaging in a politically motivated witch- hunt. Prosecutors, however, believe the payment violated campaign finance laws. He has responded to the indictment with a flurry of posts on his social media platform Truth Social attacking the district attorney's office.
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While speaking with NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Vance said, "I was disturbed to hear the former president speak in the way he spoke about the District Attorney Bragg and even the trial court in the past week."
He added: "If I were his lawyer...I would be mindful of not committing some other criminal offense like obstruction of governmental administration, which is interfering with or by threat or otherwise the operation of government."
The former president has been an outspoken critic of Bragg, calling him out for his "soft on crime" approach in New York City. On Truth Social on Saturday, Trump wrote, "NEW CRIME STATISTICS ARE OUT IN MANHATTAN, THE PLACE REIGNED OVER BY RADICAL LEFT, SOROS BACKED, DISTRICT ATTORNEY—ALVIN BRAGG. THE NUMBERS ARE A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DISASTER....BUT, AT LEAST HE CAN TELL HIS TRUMP HATING WIFE AND FRIENDS THAT HE IS GOING AFTER THE VERY SUCCESSFUL 45TH PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. MAGA!"
Vance concluded on Sunday that he thinks Trump's rhetoric toward Bragg could perhaps elevate "not the strongest case" and make it more severe in a jury's mind.
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Political analyst and Dillard University professor Robert Collins told Newsweek on Sunday, "Trump's lawyers should advise him to refrain from attacking Bragg. It is unlawful in New York to threaten a prosecutor. So, if Trump is not careful, he could draw an extra criminal charge."
While discussing the indictment and how this could affect Trump's 2024 presidential prospects, Collins said, "Unless he is put in jail and physically restrained from campaigning, there is nothing that will deter him from staying in the race. There is nothing in the U.S. Constitution that bars a president under indictment from running for office, even from under multiple indictments."
Collins concluded: "His campaign organization is already using the indictment in a positive way because they are using it to raise campaign money. A whole new batch of fundraising emails went out this weekend to Trump supporters imploring them to donate more money to the campaign because they argue he needs it for his legal defense. So, they will raise millions off of the indictment and arraignment publicity."
Meanwhile, Trump plans to turn himself in to authorities in New York City on Tuesday. He says he will deliver remarks following the arraignment at Mar-a-Lago, his Palm Beach, Florida, estate around 8:15 p.m.
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