News about Cyrus Vance

Long before Donald Trump 's hush-money trial concluded, I predicted that his conviction was a forgone conclusion - despite the obvious weakness of the case against him. The infamous conversation between Stalin and the head of his KGB Lavrenty Beria is often quoted: 'Show me the man, and I will find you the crime.' This prosecution was even worse because, though DA Bragg tried desperately to find a crime with which to charge Trump, he failed to find one, as did his predecessor Cyrus Vance. So Bragg went a dangerous step further than Stalin ever did: he made up a crime. He found a misdemeanor that was past the statute of limitations - making a false bookkeeping entry on a corporate form - and magically converted it to a felony that was within the limitation period by alleging that the false entry was intended to cover up another crime.

His victims are outraged, as they should be. But it is the prosecutors and the judge in this case, doubtless swept up in a media maelstrom that found Weinstein guilty before he ever entered that courtroom, who should be the objects of their rage and contempt. It is they - not the justices who voted to overturn - who are responsible for re-victimizing these women. The overzealous, self-righteous New York prosecutorial team, led by then-DA Cyrus Vance, is to blame. As is the now-retired judge in this case, James M. Burke, who allowed the testimony of three women who had nothing to do with Weinstein's trial. In overreaching, in trying to overcorrect for a multi-pronged, system-wide failure that allowed Weinstein to predate for years - well, Vance and Burke have done as much damage to women as Weinstein ever did.

After jurors in Manhattan found two Trump Organization affiliates guilty of 17 criminal charges last month, a New York state judge suspended the sentence. Justice Juan Merchan of the Manhattan criminal court sentenced Allen Weisselberg, the company's former chief financial officer, to prison for five months after he testified as the prosecution's star witness. In the investigation, no one else was charged or sentenced to prison time. The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, which brought the lawsuit, is now investigating Trump's business practices.