John Ratcliffe, the former Director of National Intelligence and federal prosecutor in the Trump administration, recently suggested that someone from the Manhattan District Attorney’s office may have committed a felony.
Allegations have surfaced that Trump faces around 30 criminal charges related to business fraud, and Ratcliffe believes that the only people capable of leaking that information to the public would be the DA’s team or members of the grand jury.
The media, including CNN and NBC, cited “two sources familiar” with the matter and reported that the charges revolve around “hush money” payments to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election cycle.
DNI John Ratcliffe says that Alvin Bragg may have committed a felony.
Leaking grand jury information is a felony and so the only people capable of that would be Alvin Bragg’s team or members of the grand jury itself.”
Ready for the boomerang? pic.twitter.com/kshBZVG0rA
— vanhoa (@vanhoa2272) April 2, 2023
Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz weighed in on the situation, saying that if the leaks are true, it constitutes a violation of New York penal law, and could mean a five-year prison sentence for the culprit.
Trump, who is currently running for a third term as president, denies any wrongdoing and has called the charges a “persecution” by Democrats and liberal ideologies. Republicans in Congress have opened an investigation into the matter and have asked for documents and testimonies from the DA’s office.
In response, DA Alvin Bragg has urged the GOP to let the criminal justice process proceed without “unlawful political interference.”
Bragg’s office has also been in contact with Trump’s legal counsel to coordinate about the former president’s surrender for his arraignment on Tuesday.
The events that have transpired since the first allegations of a Trump indictment have been shocking and concerning, not only for the implications of the indictment itself but for the possibility that it was leaked by someone from the DA’s office.
This would be a serious violation of law and an affront to the justice system.
There is a crime — illegal grand jury leaks from Bragg’s office! pic.twitter.com/qHw20yK3s9
— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) April 1, 2023
It is imperative that we get to the bottom of this situation. If a crime was committed to leak the details of Trump’s indictment, those responsible should be held accountable. Similarly, if Trump is found to be innocent, then he should be exonerated. This is a matter of justice and fairness, and we must ensure that due process is followed.
