Manhattan DA Receives Package of White Powder for a Second Time

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 04: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a press conference following the arraignment of former U.S. President Donald Trump April 4, 2023 in New York City. Former U.S. President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts stemming from hush money payments in 2016. With his indictment, Trump will become the first former U.S. president in history to be charged with a criminal offense. Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg on Wednesday received an envelope containing white powder, deemed non-hazardous, for a second time.

The envelope was found just after 3 p.m. in the mailroom at 80 Centre Street in lower Manhattan, where Bragg has an office. The finding prompted a police response as a precaution.

The powder was deemed nonhazardous, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).

“NYPD testing determined the powder found in the mailroom to be non-hazardous,” a spokesperson for Bragg told The Epoch Times.

“We thank our partners at the NYPD Emergency Service Unit and the NYC Department of Environmental Protection for their quick response.”

The incident comes just weeks after Bragg was sent white powder, also deemed non-hazardous, in late March.

Bragg, a Democrat, had convened a New York grand jury earlier this year that ultimately indicted former Republican President Donald Trump in late March for 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, to which Trump pleaded not guilty on April 4. Every count is a felony, carrying up to a four-year sentence.

Bragg has been probing a $130,000 payment by former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen to adult performer Stormy Daniels. The payment was made in the lead-up to the 2016 presidential election.

Daniels alleged Trump had an affair with her, but Trump has consistently denied any extramarital relationship with Daniels. Meanwhile, Cohen previously said he had spoken to the grand jury.

New York prosecutors are accusing Trump of having instructed Cohen to pay Daniels, and then reimbursing Cohen through monthly checks that were disguised as a retainer for legal services for the Trump Organization, leading to 34 false entries in New York business records.

A felony falsifying records charge requires prosecutors to prove that the entry was done with the intent to hide the commission of a second crime. The indictment and court documents do not specify a second crime. That the court documents didn’t reveal what the second crime the former president is accused has been of major concern to experts.

Bragg, at a press conference on April 4, mentioned three possibilities of a second crime: a violation of state election law that bars any conspiracy to promote a candidate “by unlawful means,” a violation of a federal cap on campaign contributions, and a violation of state tax law. But experts have said Bragg’s lack of transparency on what the second crime actually is highly problematic.

Trump, hours after his April 4 arraignment, declared that Bragg has “no case” against him. “The only crime that I’ve committed is to fiercely defend our nation,” he said in Florida after returning from Manhattan.

Trump described Bragg’s case and several other criminal and civil investigations against him as “massive election interference at a scale never seen before in our country,“ adding, ”They can’t beat us at the ballot box. So they try to beat us through the law.”

Republicans and analysts say the unprecedented move to indict a former president sets Trump up as a martyr and represents a turning point in the country, where the legal system can be weaponized against political opponents.

Gary Bai, Nathan Worcester, and John Haughey contributed to this report.