(The Hill) — Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Sunday weighed in for the first time on the indictment of former President Trump, calling the “bravado” by the Trump campaign over the matter “baloney.”
Christie, a panelist on ABC’s “This Week,” said despite Trump’s attempts at avoiding a day in court, the indictment by a grand jury in Manhattan means that’s unavoidable – and disagreed with the notion that facing such a legal matter was a political winner.
Christie also criticized Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) for what he called a weak case. Christie, himself a former prosecutor, said investigating the hush money payment made to adult film star Stormy Daniels during Trump’s 2016 campaign was not the best use of resources by a local DA office given New York’s facing of a host of crime issues
“I like the European system where they say there’s a crime you must charge it. Here prosecutors are allowed to use their discretion that I don’t think this is an appropriate use of my sources, given everything I have in front of me,” Christie said. “On the other hand, all this bravado from the Trump camp is baloney.”
“He’s doing the charge officially on Tuesday. He’s gonna have to be [mugshotted] fingerprinted, and he’s gonna face a criminal trial in Manhattan. He’s not gonna be able to avoid that. You can’t make that a good day. I’m pretty certain there has been a lot of heavy talk from the Trump camp. Yeah, and it’s ridiculous,” Christie said.
Trump is expected to be in New York on Monday and arrive for an arraignment on Tuesday afternoon after the grand jury voted last week to indict him on what some outlets report are dozens of charges on financial crimes. The former president’s lawyer, Joe Tacopina, said earlier on ABC that his legal strategy could include fighting the charges.
Asked how Trump is feeling, Tacopina said the former president was “gearing up for battle.”
“You know, this is something that, obviously, we believe is a political persecution and I think people on both sides of the aisle believe that. It’s a complete abuse of power. He’s a tough guy…as you know, and he’s someone who’s going to be ready for this fight. We’re ready for this fight. And I look forward to moving this thing along as quickly as possible to exonerate him” Tacopina said.
