The sheer number of counts—34 felonies—filed against former President Donald Trump is surprising and appears to be a classic example of a prosecutor “overcharging” a defendant, legal analysts said on April 4 in the aftermath of historic criminal proceedings against the 2024 presidential candidate.
New York prosecutors alleged that Trump directed his then-lawyer Michael Cohen to pay $130,000 in hush money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels weeks before the 2016 presidential election. Trump then illegally reimbursed Cohen for the payment under the guise of a monthly retainer for legal services, court filings allege, leading to 34 false entries in New York business records.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement that Trump “went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.”
In court, Trump pleaded not guilty to the 34 felony counts of falsification of business records. Each count carries a maximum of four years in prison. The former president has vociferously maintained his innocence, claiming Bragg’s case is a partisan “witch hunt.”
John Banzhaf III, a professor emeritus at George Washington University Law School, said he wouldn’t be surprised if the seemingly excessive charges will induce jurors to acquit Trump. They may see the whole case as unfair.
“I think even a jury which may not have too much legal expertise is going to look over at this and say, ‘Well, this is repetitious,’” Banzhaf told The Epoch Times.
He used this analogy: If a person was accused of a bank robbery, instead of charging him with robbing one bank, the prosecutor would load up 33 other charges, such as “he crossed the street against the red light, was double parked, shot off his gun, and he carried a gun when he shouldn’t,” Banzhaf said.
“But, you know, to most people, they would say that was one crime, one bank robbery.”
Banzhaf, ironically, was the attorney who filed a complaint against Trump in Georgia, leading to an investigation there for alleged interference in the 2020 presidential election.
By Janice Hisle
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