Judge Judy renders verdict on Trump v. New York case: ‘Nonsense’

Judge Judy Sheindlin has delivered a verdict on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s successful prosecution of former President Trump, calling the case “nonsense.”

The famous TV arbiter told CNN host Chris Wallace that as a “taxpayer in this country,” she resents Bragg for “using the system for your own personal self-aggrandizement.”

“And that’s what you think the DA did in Manhattan?” Wallace asked in an interview that streamed Friday on Max.

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Judge Judy Sheindlin introduces Republican presidential candidate, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, during a campaign event at Exeter High School on January 21, 2024, in Exeter, New Hampshire. Sheindlin is host of “Judy Justice” on Amazon’s Freevee.  (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“That’s what I think. I mean, if you look — you had to twist yourself into a pretzel to figure out what the crime was,” said Sheindlin. 

A jury convicted former President Trump last month on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records during his 2016 campaign to conceal a $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels, a pornographic performer, to silence her about an alleged affair with Trump in 2006. 

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Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, Thursday, May 30, 2024, after being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

“I would be happier, as someone who owns property in Manhattan, if the district attorney of New York County would take care of criminals who were making it impossible for citizens to walk in the streets and use the subway, to use his efforts to keep those people off the street, than to spend $5 million or $10 million of taxpayers’ money trying Donald Trump on this nonsense,” Sheindlin told Wallace. 

Asked for her thoughts on Trump, the 81-year-old former Manhattan Family Court judge replied, “I think he was a good businessman, a real estate guy. And he was certainly terrific on ‘The Apprentice.'”

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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg stands with members of his staff at a news conference following the conviction of former U.S. President Donald Trump in his hush money trial on May 30, 2024, in New York City.  (Getty Images)

But Sheindlin, a political independent who backed former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican presidential primary, delivered a more harsh judgment about Trump’s term as President of the United States.

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“I don’t think that Donald ever should have been president,” Sheindlin said, “and I don’t think that even Donald thought he was going to be president.”

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.