Trump's own argument used against him as Bragg trashes claim trial should be dismissed

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg responded Wednesday to Donald Trump's recent legal filing claiming that the election interference case involving the Stormy Daniels hush money scandal should be dismissed because the pretrial publicity makes it impossible for him to get a fair hearing.

Just Security reporter Adam Klasfeld pointed out that Bragg has taken a key part of Trump's argument and used it against the former president. The Trump filing says that his team surveyed 400 New Yorkers, and found they believe that he is guilty before the trial even starts — suggesting an unbiased jury will be hard to find.

Klasfeld wrote, "D.A. Bragg says the survey accomplished the opposite — confirming Manhattanites can set aside their opinions of Trump and give him a fair trial."

"In Manhattan, 67% of respondents said they could 'definitely' (51%) or 'probably' (17%) set aside their opinions and render a verdict based solely on the trial evidence — equal to or higher than the rate in any other surveyed county," Bragg's filing stated, using figures from Trump's survey.

Klasfeld also pointed out another comment about the survey, which surfaced in the footnotes. According to Bragg, there are "serious doubts" about it because Trump's team doesn't explain the method it used to collect responses.

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"The survey also provides no information about how it obtained the contact information of respondents or how it ensured that its samples were actually random or representative of the residents of each of the counties in question," Bragg wrote.

New York Daily News court reporter Molly Crane-Newman pointed to Bragg's comment that Trump can't have it both ways, both "complaining about the prejudicial effect of pretrial publicity, while seeking to pollute the jury pool himself by making baseless and inflammatory accusations about this trial, specific witnesses, individual prosecutors, and the Court."

MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin drew attention to the same point, saying that this attempt at dismissal was just the beginning. Tuesday afternoon, Trump's lawyers filed notice that they'd be demanding Judge Juan Merchan's recusal based on his daughter's work at a political consultancy firm with Democratic Party clients.

She also said Trump's frequent requests for recusal will not delay the trial.

CNN legal analyst and former impeachment lawyer Norm Eisen agreed that Trump is trying to pause his trial, but that it won't work.

"D.A. Bragg slams Trump's constant delay efforts in this filing. It’s so obvious! Trump is getting more & more desperate because he knows he's likely going to be convicted and sentenced to JAIL," Eisen wrote on the social media site X.