Following his indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, former President Donald Trump’s advisers and allies have expressed concern about Trump potentially being tried in Manhattan, pointing to the borough’s predominately Democratic-voting population as reason the former president will not get a fair trial.
“There is no way he gets a fair jury,” one adviser said. “What are they going to say? ‘Have you ever heard of Donald Trump?’ Have you been living under a rock?'”
However, Trump’s attorneys are not currently considering asking for a change of venue and do not plan to make many decisions until they see the indictment, which is expected to happen Tuesday when Trump is arraigned.
Trump’s indictment remains under seal, so it’s unclear what charges the former president faces, and there’s a long road ahead before any potential trial. But the initial discussions among advisers indicate at least some of Trump’s political team’s concerns moving forward.
In a statement, Trump’s campaign did not address the location of the potential trial and instead again slammed Bragg’s investigation as a “political persecution.”
“The Manhattan DA’s crusade against President Donald J. Trump is nothing more than political persecution and, just like with every other hoax that President Trump has been targeted with, there is no crime whatsoever, except for election interference by radical Democrats through weaponization of our justice system against President Trump and his supporters,” the statement said.
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