The committee passed a resolution on Thursday, April 13 condemning Bragg’s 34-count indictment of the former president and current presidential hopeful seeking the Republican nomination. The committee believes the charges against Trump are a “political prosecution” that “breaks the American tradition of not criminalizing political activity.” The resolution did not pass unanimously — one person out of 11 committee members present voted against it.

The resolution comes as Trump faces 34 first-degree felony charges for allegedly falsifying business records during the 2016 election in what’s commonly being called a “hush money case” — including a $130,000 payment that Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels to keep her from publicizing claims that she shared an extramarital sexual encounter with Trump, funds which Trump allegedly paid back to Cohen through personal and family company accounts and labeled as legal expenses.

North Elba Republican Committee Chair and former North Elba town Supervisor Jay Rand said the committee’s resolution was prompted by recent news and media that have aired some politicians’ concerns, including statements from New York GOP Chair Ed Cox, that Bragg’s allegations against Trump are politically motivated rather than rooted in the rule of law. The committee’s resolution isn’t about showing support for Trump, Rand said — it’s about what they see as a “misuse of the justice system” and their concerns over violations of Trump’s rights, specifically in regard to the state’s statute of limitations.

The Republican committee argues that the statute of limitations has expired for the charges lodged against Trump, which stem from his 2016 campaign for president. In New York, most attorneys have five years to bring a felony charge to court. However, according to Politico, there are exceptions to the rule — including if the defendant was living out of state during the statute. Since 2019, Trump has lived at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

While Trump hasn’t been convicted of any of the alleged crimes to date, the North Elba Republican Committee’s resolution asserts that the charges lodged against him could set a precedent in the criminal justice system for more of what they see as a politically-motivated indictment ahead of the 2024 election.

“The indictment of a leading candidate will lead to future indictments of political opponents,” the resolution reads.

To support claims that the indictment is politically motivated, the committee’s resolution asserts that Bragg, a Democrat, campaigned on the promise that he would prosecute Trump despite the Department of Justice and District Attorney’s office previously declining to prosecute this case.

Bragg, who was elected as DA in 2021, stated his intent to continue the office’s preexisting investigation into Trump’s alleged crimes if elected. After taking office, Bragg initially declined to charge Trump with any crimes pending further investigation, according to the Associated Press, a move that sparked protest from two prosecutors leading the investigation, who resigned in frustration. However, Bragg revived the case this year after convicting Trump’s family company — the Trump Organization — for tax fraud, according to the Associated Press.

The committee’s resolution says “many legal experts have stated that the case is weak and even a ‘first year law student’ could get it dismissed.”

Alan Dershowitz, the attorney who represented Trump during his impeachment trial, told Steve Bannon on his podcast “The War Room” that “any first-year law student could get this (case) dismissed in front of any objective judge.” Bannon was the Trump administration’s chief strategist for the first seven months of Trump’s term.

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Rule of law

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The committee submitted a letter to the editor to the Adirondack Daily Enterprise about the resolution. In the letter, the committee says they see two tiers in the U.S. criminal justice system: One reserved for Democrats and another for Democrats’ political opponents. The committee did not elaborate on how the parties are treated differently by the judicial system.

“We, of the North Elba Republican Committee, believe that the criminal justice system should treat all fairly and afford all people due process and equal protection under the law,” the letter reads.

While the resolution calls Trump a “leading candidate” for the Republican nomination as a 2024 presidential candidate, in their letter to the editor, the committee states that its resolution against Bragg is rooted in the rule of law, not in unanimous support for the former president.

“It is important to note that while all of the members do not support Trump, they do all support the rule of law,” the letter states.

Everyone in the U.S. — including former presidents — is subject to the rule of law, according to the U.S. Constitution. Trump is the first former president to be charged with a crime. Though the current case against Trump is being led by Bragg, an indictment can only result from the vote of a grand jury — a panel of jurors who determine whether or not there is enough evidence to charge someone with a crime.

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Responses

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Wilmington town Supervisor Roy Holzer, who chairs Wilmington’s Republican Committee, said his committee hasn’t passed a resolution condemning Trump’s indictment and doesn’t plan to.

“I’m not getting involved in national politics at this point,” he said. “Even though I’m a Republican, there’s a vast difference between — I believe, anyway — some of us local Republicans and national Republicans,” he said. While Rand said his committee isn’t typically concerned with national politics, the committee wanted to express their feelings on the case.

Holzer added that he hasn’t heard of any other Republican committees in Essex County that have passed a similar resolution. A request for comment from Shaun Gillilland, chairman of the Essex County Republican Committee and the Willsboro town supervisor, was not immediately returned by press time.

Margie Gallagher, who co-chairs the North Elba Democratic Committee with Sue Semegram, responded to a request for comment Monday, April 17 with a statement on behalf of her committee.

“The Democratic party of North Elba believes in the rule of law, and this is a matter for the courts to adjudicate,” Gallagher said. “Our committee does not have a formal position on this (resolution) at this time.”

Maggie Bartley, chair of the Essex County Democratic Committee, said she’s “not surprised” by the North Elba Republicans’ resolution.

“They can say whatever they want,” she said. ” … I’m not worked up about it or anything.”

She said she’d be concerned about the resolution if it were passed by the North Elba Town Council and had a direct effect on the local community. Bartley said resolutions passed by political committees are usually relegated to the committee’s minutes but are sometimes sent to media outlets or posted on social media.

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Pressure

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The committee’s resolution was passed as House Republicans pressure Bragg to release documents and testimony from the case, and a few days before House Republicans on the Judiciary Committee accused Bragg in a hearing of embracing “pro-crime, anti-victim policies,” the New York Times reported on April 17.

House Democrats dismissed the hearing as an effort to “interfere in an ongoing criminal investigation” and make people believe that it’s because of lax enforcement by liberal officials that crime has increased in the city.