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The top Department of Justice spokesman for the Southern District of New York was caught on a hidden camera lambasting Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s prosecution of former President Donald Trump, calling the case “nonsense” and accusing Democrats of being “out to get” the Republican presidential nominee.
Nicholas Biase, chief spokesman for the Manhattan US Attorney’s Office, was secretly recorded in July and August dishing about Bragg and his “hush-money” case against Trump by an undercover journalist for conservative commentator Steven Crowder’s “Mug Club.”
“Honestly, I think the case is nonsense,” Biase said on July 31 to the unidentified female journalist during what appeared to be a date at a crowded bar.
The DOJ spokesman also said he believed the unprecedented prosecution was designed to help Bragg further his own political ambitions.
“He wants to be, something … a mayor? I’m not sure what he wants to be, but I know he’s not happy just being the DA of New York County. Before he decided to prosecute Trump, did you know who he was? You do now,” he told the woman in the recording.
Trump was found guilty in May on all 34 felony charges related to alleged falsified business records to cover up a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election.
Back in April, George Washington University law Professor Jonathan Turley expressed disbelief that the “absurd” case was actually brought to trial.
“I mean, this is an embarrassment…This case should not have been brought, and if it were brought, there was no reason to have this right before the election,” he commented on Fox News. After Trump’s conviction in June, Turley described the Southern District of New York as a legal wasteland, writing: “With the Trump trial, Manhattan has become a type of legal wilderness where prosecutors use the legal system to hunt down political rivals and thrill their own supporters.”
Turley said he expected Trump to “have initial difficulty in the New York system,” but believed that “the verdict should and will eventually be set aside.”
The former president was set to be sentenced on Sept. 18. but Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan on Friday blinked and rescheduled his sentencing to Nov 26, weeks after the election.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung told Fox News: “There should be no sentencing in the Manhattan DA’s Election Interference Witch Hunt. As mandated by the United States Supreme Court, this case, along with all of the other Harris-Biden Hoaxes, should be dismissed.”
Trump has appealed the verdict, after pleading not guilty to all charges. Trump attorney Todd Blanche said the verdict should be overturned based on the Supreme Court’s ruling on presidential immunity, granting presidents limited immunity for official acts.
“This guy [Merchan] is probably going to try to lock him [Trump] up. And there is going to be, it’s going to be ugly…” Biase predicted in the clip.
“They are so obsessed with getting him [Trump],” he added.
Asked whom he meant by “they,” Biase replied, “The Democrats … It affects his candidacy if he’s a convicted felon.”
“Those felonies did nothing to stop Trump from running,” the woman noted. Biase agreed, saying: “In fact, they made him [Trump] more relevant.”
Biase also appeared to have a dim view of the civil fraud case against Trump brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James. Trump was found guilty of inflating the value of his assets to get bank loans and was forced to post a $175 million bond, which a N.Y. appeals court reduced from $464 million.
“Every real estate person in New York does what he [Trump] did. Nobody’s ever been charged with this … You know, it’s a perversion of justice,” Biase said.
“At the federal level, where I work, there is a 90-day rule where you can’t make any decisions on cases that are going to affect an election [within 90 days of an election],” he continued.
“That rule does not apply at the state level because the state level is like the f–king Wild West,” he said. “They are like idiots. They don’t care. They’re all political.”
Biase also weighed in on Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ prosecution of Trump in Georgia, calling it a “travesty of justice.”
Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted in August 2023 on charges related to his efforts to expose the 2020 election fraud in Georgia, and reverse the result.
“To put it mildly, it’s a mockery of justice. She is a joke … The whole thing is disgusting. They’re just out to get him [Trump],” Biase said of Willis.
The spokesman has since apologized for the remarks, telling The New York Post on Thursday he “should have known better.”
“I was recently made aware of a video where I regretfully made some statements in a private and social setting that don’t reflect my views about two local and state prosecutions,” he said in a statement.
“I said these things in an effort to please and impress someone I just met, who was secretly filming me. I’m deeply sorry to the local and state law enforcement officials working on these matters, who deserve more respect than I showed them. I should have known better.”
