Accomplished prosecutor: 'Silent majority' of New York lawyers oppose Trump charges, Alvin Bragg

Joseph diGenova, an accomplished federal prosecutor who led investigations of major political figures, said Tuesday evening he believes a majority of lawyers and judges in New York oppose Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and his effort to indict former President Donald Trump. 

"I think there's a silent majority in the New York bar and bench that thinks this case is awful, and so is Alvin Bragg," diGenova said during an interview on the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show.

Trump on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records and conspiracy related to his alleged role in hush money payments to two women. The indictment was brought by Bragg's office, making Trump the first former president to ever face criminal charges.

A key figure in conservative legal circles for decades, diGenova served as the U.S. attorney for Washington D.C. under Ronald Reagan, where he famously prosecuted corruption inside the office of late D.C. Mayor Marion Barry as well as espionage cases that included convicted Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard.

He was later appointed an Independent Counsel to investigate the George W. Bush's administration's bungled effort to dig up dirt inside Bill Clinton's passport files, ultimately concluding the officials had made stupid mistakes but did not violate laws that warranted prosecution.

The former prosecutor on Tuesday rattled off a litany of problems with Bragg's prosecution of Trump, ranging from statute of limitations and a failure to meet the legal definition of fraud to grand jury leaks and Bragg's post-arraignment news conference.

"I think this indictment is an embarrassment to the historic Manhattan District Attorney's office," he stated. "It's an embarrassment to the bar of the city of New York and the court system of New York."

diGenova said the judge in this case displayed some early acumen by refusing to issue a gag order against Trump.

"He didn't impose a gag order today, which showed me that he has some common sense," diGenova said. "And if he can end up being a hero by dismissing this case on the statute of limitations, he's going to have a lot of friends in the court system and the bar."