Former Assistant Attorney General Jeff Clark Condemns Leaks, Secrecy Surrounding Trump Indictment

Jeff Clark, a former Assistant Attorney General, has expressed concern about selective leaks and the withholding of information from the public as the nation awaits the arraignment of former President Donald Trump on charges brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

Bragg’s office confirmed Trump’s indictment on Thursday evening, but the indictment remains sealed until Trump’s initial court appearance on Tuesday. Clark questioned the decision to announce the indictment and allow rumors about the case to circulate throughout the media and the public for several days before the charges are actually revealed.

The indictment comes after Bragg’s office had been investigating Trump for his alleged involvement in a $130,000 payment in 2016 to adult entertainment actress Stormy Daniels by his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen. The payment was allegedly made to stop Daniels from going public with her claim of an affair with Trump before the 2016 election. Trump denies the alleged affair.

Clark expressed his frustration with this situation, commenting that it doesn’t seem fair to announce the indictment but then not reveal what the charges are until days later. He also speculated that the announcement may have been made days ahead of the announcement of the actual charges to undermine Trump’s ability to refute the charges in a direct appeal to the public.

Furthermore, Clark accused the media of being a major component of prosecutors’ attempts to shape public opinion against Trump. According to him, prosecutors are leaking things strategically to try to damage President Trump and his defense efforts.

Clark argued that the slow drip of allegations by the prosecuting side makes it difficult for Trump or his lawyers to rebut the allegations. He emphasized that you don’t get to see a balanced presentation and a debate, a balanced debate, occur in the public sphere.

Clark said the Manhattan DA’s case against Trump is being handled similarly to other efforts to investigate and prosecute the former president or his political allies.

NTD reached out to the Manhattan DA’s office but did not receive a response before press time.

Other Cases Involving Trump

Clark said the Manhattan DA’s case against Trump is being handled similarly to other efforts to investigate and prosecute the former president or his political allies, such as the special counsel investigation into documents with classified markings that were found at his Mar-a-Lago home and the investigation into the Trump campaign team’s conversations with Georgia election officials following the 2020 election.