TALLAHASSEE, Fla.—Attorney General Ashley Moody has led an amicus brief with Iowa in support of Missouri’s legal challenge to New York’s prosecution of former President Donald J. Trump. The brief argues that New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg's actions constitute a misuse of state authority during the presidential election.
Attorney General Moody stated, “Alvin Bragg’s calculated persecution of a political rival is unprecedented and dangerous to American democracy. Bragg is running his office as an extension of the DNC—prosecuting Trump in bad faith, all in an effort to deliver victory to his political party in November.”
According to various reports, Bragg:
- Boasted on the campaign trail about investigating Trump and his children regarding their conduct with the Trump Foundation;
- Hosted a political fundraiser with an attorney involved in Trump's impeachment;
- Was accused by a primary opponent of exploiting Trump for political gain; and
- Admitted having serious doubts about the case's viability.
These doubts led to the resignation of two top attorneys working on the case. Reportedly, Bragg faced significant political backlash. His star witness, Michael Cohen, allegedly perjured himself during testimony and demanded the return of documents he had provided. Amidst this controversy, Bragg consulted with outside supporters and decided to revisit the case, bringing in a Democratic National Committee operative to prosecute it, resulting in Trump's conviction.
Missouri has since filed a legal challenge against New York to stay the case during the presidential election. Attorney General Moody's amicus brief supports this challenge. Alaska and Montana joined Florida and Iowa in this filing.
The brief states: “Alvin Bragg was elected as the Manhattan District Attorney in 2021. He campaigned on using his office to target President Trump and his family. He frequently bragged that he ‘had investigated Trump and his children’ and sued President Trump ‘more than a hundred times.’ He also hosted a campaign fundraiser with a former House of Representatives lawyer involved in President Trump’s first impeachment… When Bragg took office, he inherited a sprawling criminal investigation into President Trump’s financial records. But despite his previously expressed zeal for targeting President Trump, Bragg ‘had serious doubts’ about the investigation. Bragg decided that the case was too weak to charge and brought the investigation ‘to a sudden halt.’… That decision proved unpopular in Bragg’s political circles. It prompted ‘fierce’ and ‘heated’ ‘political backlash.’”
The attorneys general further assert: “Bragg ‘went back to square one,’ ‘poring over’ material in search of something to charge. He became increasingly interested in a prosecution centered on payments President Trump had made under nondisclosure agreements to keep confidential alleged personal improprieties—an investigation some in Bragg’s office referred to as the ‘zombie case’ because of how long the office had abandoned it before Bragg brought it back to life… Bragg indicted President Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records. Those charges would ordinarily constitute misdemeanors in New York... but at that point, the statute of limitations on misdemeanors had arguably run... So to convert the charges into felonies, Bragg alleged that the records were falsified with ‘intent to commit another crime and aid and conceal the commission thereof,’ without specifying what that other crime was."
Attorney General Moody and her coalition have filed this amicus brief supporting Missouri's motion for leave to file a bill of complaint.
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