Presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump and his legal team have consistently claimed that the criminal hush money trial that was brought against him in New York City was politically motivated.
Recently, his legal team even said that a directive to New York state — which successfully prosecuted him in the case — was sent all the way up from the White House.
Shannon Bream, a host for Fox News, pushed back on that assertion last week, which did not sit well with Trump nor his attorneys, who called her “naive.”
In an interview that Bream hosted with Alina Habba, a spokesperson and attorney for Trump, she said that Biden is “not responsible” for bringing the criminal charges against Trump. The host also pushed back on Habba’s claims that the entire case was organized from the top of the Democratic political machine.
That led Trump to post on his social media platform Truth Social:
“I never knew Shannon Bream was so ‘naive.’ Not only is he (Biden) involved, he is virtually leading it, and all of the other Trials as well — Meaning, his people, because he’s not mentally sharp enough to lead anything! Just take a look at the DOJ/White House Thugs involved, and everything else.”
Trump didn’t stop there, though, saying that it’s “stupid” to believe that Biden isn’t at all involved in the New York case. He added:
“Biden is incompetent, and feels that Weaponization is the only way he can win. He’s counting on the Shannon Breams of the World to get him here. Bad day for Shannon!”
In the interview with Habba, Bream pointed out — correctly — that the business fraud case revolved around hush money payments Trump made to former adult film actress Stormy Daniels were led by state-level prosecutors in New York. It was not a federal case, which meant that Biden had no direct influence over the case.
Even if there was political influence, Bream said, it would’ve come from New York state, not the White House. As the Fox News host said:
“It’s a state trial. It’s [Democratic Manhattan District Attorney] Alvin Bragg. Whether you think there’s a political motive for him, it’s not connected to the DOJ. … I mean, the feds passed on these election charges.”
What Bream was referring to was the fact that the DOJ has already passed on levying criminal charges against Trump over the hush money payments, and that they were made illegally as part of an election fraud case.
New York state brought the state-level case against Trump for business fraud in the state, levying 34 charges against him revolved around falsifying business records. While Trump pleaded not guilty to all of those charges, the jury last week unanimously found him guilty of all the charges.
His sentencing is set for July, but his legal team has already said they will appeal the conviction.
Trump is also facing a state-level criminal case in Georgia and two federal criminal cases, though all are currently on hold and likely won’t even begin before the November election.
