'Hard to imagine' Trump won't be indicted based on publicly available evidence: legal expert

MSNBC's Andrew Weissman believes Donald Trump almost certainly will face charges in New York for an alleged hush money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

The former federal prosecutors told "Morning Joe" that Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg Jr. would not have empaneled a grand jury, called witnesses and presented evidence if he had no intention of indicting the former president, because the case appears strong enough that voters might hold him accountable if he lets Trump walk away unscathed.

"I don't see him doing this and not indicting, because the expectations in the media and, you know, for sort of all the electorate, is this is going to happen," Weissman said. "I'd say another piece that is worth considering is defense counsel for Donald Trump have reportedly already been in to make arguments to Alvin Bragg. That's an important step that you do at the very end of a case before you indict, you give the other side an opportunity to be heard, to make any and all arguments. that has already happened. With that happening, which clearly can be made public and has been, and you have Michael Cohen, who is somebody who obviously speaks a lot to the media. They knew if they put him in the grand jury, that'd become very well known, it's really hard to see that there won't be a decision on this imminently."

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"Whether Alvin Bragg is a politician or a straight shooter of a D.A., I think that he is going to look at this evidence, and it is really hard to imagine he wouldn't go forward," Weissman added. "It is also worth remembering, this is the D.A. who rejected the Mark Pomerantz entreaty over a year ago, saying the case was not ready to go forward. So that's a good sign he is not actually doing this with politics but is really deciding on the merits -- is there enough proof here? We'll see, but I think that we should be very, very conscious that this is likely to come down very soon."

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