'Lawless thug' Donald Trump is ignoring all of his 'legitimate legal defenses': attorney

According to an attorney who has made his distaste for Donald Trump clearly known during his many cable television appearances, the former president and his legal team have legitimate legal points that could be used to quash his 34-felony count indictment in Manhattan but that is not the way Trump likes to play.

In a column for The Nation, Elie Mystal stated Trump's reaction to the work being done by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office is nothing less than acting like a "lawless thug."

Mystal made the point that he fully believes Trump is guilty of a multitude of crimes, but the Manhattan indictment from last week is problematic at best and full of holes that could lead to dismissal if the former president lets his lawyers do the job they were hired to do.

Noting that Trump "has chosen to fight the charges against him like a lawless thug" by trying to incite violence and attacking the prosecutors, the judge and anyone else he perceives to not being on his side.

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"It’s tempting to allow ourselves to feel inured to Trump’s authoritarian antics, but we should never lose our ability to recoil at what he’s doing. Trump isn’t attacking the law; he’s attacking the rule of law. Instead of availing himself of the process afforded to every citizen who is accused of a crime, he’s calling for Bragg’s arrest. Instead of using his overwhelming resources to fight the charges, he’s using his platform—and an endless supply of free media coverage — to spread lies and misinformation about the entire justice system," he wrote.

"Worse still, Trump is choosing to play the game this way despite having options" he added.

Explaining, "Trump hasn’t been charged with campaign finance violations, or tax evasion, or conspiracy. Trump can reasonably argue that he simply kept sloppy books, that he had no intent to defraud, and that if he was involved in any of these more serious crimes, surely someone would have charged him with it by now, including Bragg’s own office," Mystal added the caveat, "I’m not saying that Trump is going to win."

"A normal politician might welcome the opportunity to beat back ticky-tacky bookkeeping charges in a public hearing. But Trump would rather threaten violence outside of a courthouse than make a reasonable argument inside of one, even when he has reasonable arguments to make," he suggested.

"If he didn’t commit these crimes, Trump should beat the charges. If Bragg’s case is weak or on shaky legal ground, Trump should beat the charges. And if Trump doesn’t think he can beat these charges, he should plead guilty and pay a fine," he wrote before adding, "That would all be normal."

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