Former Trump Attorney Lays Out ‘3 Motions They Should File Immediately After the Arraignment’

No one knows exactly how events will play out today in a Manhattan courtroom when former President Donald Trump is arraigned on some kind of business fraud charges stemming from his nondisclosure agreement with a porn star.

David Schoen, an attorney who represented Donald Trump at his second impeachment trial, is not part of this case, but he has some advice for Trump’s current attorneys:

“I think there are at least three motions that ought to be filed immediately after the arraignment,” Schoen told Fox News Monday night.

“One is a motion to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds — very interesting argument there.

“One would be a motion to dismiss and disqualify District Attorney Bragg, I think, based on his campaign statements specifically targeting President Trump and promising to convict him when he wasn’t even under investigation.

“And third, I would personally move to recuse the judge. I think there’s monkey business going on with the judge-shopping process, and I have an historic basis for making that claim. But we’ll see. I don’t think it’s coincidental that he was the judge on the Trump organization case and the Bannon case and now this case. And they, in the past have acknowledged the practice of judge shopping.”

Schoen said President Trump will be processed “like they normally do,” except the former president will not be handcuffed, and there may not be a mug shot or cameras in the courtroom.

“Judge Merchan usually allows a still photographer to take a picture sitting at the defendant’s table, and he will move through it pretty quickly,” Schoen said.

“The question is whether at the arraignment they’ll also set a motion schedule. That’s kind of up in the air, I think but they’re going to unseal the indictment before the arraignment, so at least the lawyers can look at it then. I don’t think there was any reason to seal it until now, but that’s what they’ve chosen to do.”

Attorney Sol Wisenberg, who specializes in federal white collar crime investigations and jury trials, joined Schoen on the Fox News set Monday night.

He said the “key thing” for people to watch for today is “the substance” of the case against Trump.

“You can gin up a prosecution, whether it be a misdemeanor or a felony, with a lot of counts,” Wisenberg said. “The statute is falsification of business records, which is a misdemeanor unless you’re trying to cover up another crime.

“So take a look at what that other crime is. If it’s a campaign finance violation, boy, that’s an incredibly weak case for reasons I’d be happy to explain.

“But who knows, it could be something else. It could be state tax law. But the key is to look at — does it look like it’s petty or is it something really substantive?”