Chuck Todd Puts Fmr. Manhattan DA Cy Vance Squarely on the Hot Seat: ‘Why Didn’t You Charge the Hush Money Case’ Against Trump?
Chuck Todd questioned former Manhattan DA Cy Vance, Sunday, about why he did not bring a case against former President Donald Trump, and why his successor has opted to do so.
In a fascinating one-on-one during this week’s Meet the Press, Todd — referencing a Washington Post editorial which questioned the decision to bring this case — asked Vance for his take about a case which he ultimately did not pursue.
“‘This prosecution needs to be airtight, otherwise it’s not worth continuing,’” Todd said, quoting the editorial. “Is there any doubt in your mind that this case is airtight?”
“Well, I do not know if this case is airtight or not,” Vance replied. “I know that the DA’s office has extremely experienced and seasoned lawyers.”
Todd then asked the million dollar question.
“Why didn’t you charge the hush money case?” Todd asked. “Why didn’t you ever charge it in 2018, 2019, 2020?”
“I don’t want to get into the deliberations that might be covered by grand jury material,” Vance said. “But — as I believe you know — I was asked by the U.S. attorney’s office of the Southern District to stand down on our investigation, which had commenced involving the Trump Organization. And as you know, as someone who respects that office a great deal and and believing that they may have perhaps the best laws to investigate, I did so.”
Todd, in search of a more substantive answer, tried again.
“Did your office conclude that a stand alone felony charge for these hush money payments wasn’t worth it because of so many of the uncertainties around the legal theory?” Todd asked. “And that’s why you were pursuing this larger issue, that this was just one part of sort of how the Trump Organization lied on their on their business records.”
“Well, I think, Chuck, again, I don’t want to get into our deliberations,” Vance said. “But we have historically filed cases of false documentation, elevating them to felonies when federal statutes were involved. It’s never been done that I know of with regard to federal election law, which is a quite a specific area of law. But I think the question is not so much why didn’t I do it or we did it, but why this district attorney is doing it. And that really requires us to be patient and to wait. This process isn’t going to be accelerated by us talking about it.”
