Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey (R) announced Thursday he intends to sue the State of New York over its "unconstitutional lawfare" against former President Donald Trump
"I will be filing suit against the State of New York for their direct attack on our democratic process through unconstitutional lawfare against President Trump," Bailey wrote in a post to social platform X.
The move comes nearly a month after a Manhattan jury convicted the former president on 34 counts of falsifying business records in his New York hush money trial. The verdict made Trump the first former president in U.S. history to be convicted of felony crimes.
"The State of Missouri and the voters of Missouri have a sovereign interest in having access to — that means having physical access to and hearing from — a presidential candidate for the top office in the United States government," Bailey told Fox News during an appearance Friday.
Bailey argued the New York verdict denies Missourians access to their chosen presidential candidate.
"Millions and millions of Missourians have voted for President Trump and deserve the ability to hear from him. We can't let states like New York deny Missourians of access to that candidate," Bailey said later during the appearance.
While Bailey believes the Manhattan conviction would be thrown out eventually, it would "be too late, it will still have interfered with the 2024 election," he said.
The remarks also follow Bailey's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee last week on the "illegal prosecution" of the former president.
“This is a strategic attack against a former President of the United States, against a current candidate for President, and against the value we as a nation place on our system of government,” he said before the House committee. “The term 'lawfare,' while apt, fails to adequately convey the moral depravity underpinning this strategic attack.”
The Hill has reached out to Bailey's office and the New York Attorney General's Office.
