Fox News contributor and legal expert Jonathan Turley said former President Donald Trump’s trial in Manhattan over allegedly falsifying business records has left him “in utter disbelief.”
“What is clear, is in this case, Trump is right. I mean, this is an embarrassment. I mean, the fact that we are actually talking about this case being presented in a New York courtroom, leaves me in utter disbelief. I mean, the the arguments today did in fact capture all the problems here,” Turley said Monday afternoon on Fox News.
"You had this misdemeanor under state law, that had run out, this is going back to relate it to the 2016 election. And they zapped it back into life by alleging that there was a campaign finance violation under the federal laws that doesn't exist," he said.
Turley was reacting to the trial Monday, which has officially kicked off in earnest after jury selection last week, as well as a recent poll finding 31% of Americans find Trump’s behavior at the crux of the case unethical, but not illegal. While an additional 14% said there was “nothing wrong” with Trump’s actions, and 35% who said his actions were “illegal.”
“This case should not have been brought , and if it were brought, there was no reason to have this right before the election in my view. But this is becoming the split screen election,” Turley said. “Earlier it was pretty damaging to see the split screen between Trump in different courtrooms. This is even more effective when the other side of the screen shows Biden campaigning in key states like Pennsylvania, while he's held in this courtroom."
“It really brings home something that bothers a lot of Americans, including people don't particularly like Trump, that this is the weaponization of the criminal legal system. It's something we should all be able to condemn."
Court wrapped up around 12:30 on Monday, earlier than initially anticipated, after a juror experiencing a toothache required a dental appointment.
