Things are finally heating up in the criminal case that tells the "origin story" of Donald Trump's election cheating efforts, a former federal prosecutor said.
Joyce Vance, a legal analyst appearing on MSNBC, said late on Wednesday night in a post on Substack that there has been "major activity in each of the criminal cases against" the former president. One case in particular stood out, she said.
"Tonight, I want to refocus our attention on the Manhattan DA’s case," Vance said. "But this hearing seems to have caught Trump’s attention—there are multiple reports he intends to be in court in person (there are also conflicting reports suggesting he will be in Georgia). That may suggest this case is finally getting real for the former president."
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She then continued:
"Judge Juan Merchan is set to rule on key pre-trial issues, including Trump’s motions designed to put an end to the prosecution. If the Judge denies them, he will finalize the trial schedule, currently set to begin March 25. That would make the New York case the first of the four criminal cases against Trump to go to trial."
Vance went on to say the case, in which he is charged with 34 felony counts of business records fraud in connection with "hush money" payments made to Stormy Daniels, is really "about Trump’s effort to unlawfully influence the outcome of the 2016 election."
"Had Joe Biden or Barack Obama done this, Republicans wouldn’t be dismissing it as an unimportant recordkeeping error, and it isn’t. Far from that, these are serious felony charges," the ex-prosecutor added.
She even compared the case to a comic book.
"This case is the origin story of Trump’s efforts to cheat during elections, but because the conduct occurred before his election, he can’t take advantage of any of the legal protections he’s argued presidents are entitled to in his other cases."