The New York Supreme Court delivered a tough response about the lengths to which New York DA Alvin Bragg went to prosecute citizens who purchased and passed off fake COVID vaccine cards during the pandemic.
Bragg went hammer and tong against New Yorkers who were caught violating the city’s vax mandate and using fake proof of COVID vaccination cards so they could keep their jobs during the pandemic years.
Just over a dozen people had been charged in the case after they reportedly bought faked vax cards from a New Jersey stripper named Jasmine Clifford. Most of these accused “criminals” pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge in their cases, but two employees contested the charges, Townhall reported.
Bragg, who is also involved in cases attacking former President Donald Trump, then threw the book at these two employees.
After having the weight of Bragg’s office showered down upon them, the New York State Supreme Court was called in to consider Bragg’s actions. And the court was not at all pleased.
Indeed, the state’s high court found it curious that Bragg would go so hard against these vaccine dodgers even as he has gone so soft on suspects accused of serious crimes such as murder, theft and drug charges.
In the state Supreme Court’s recent ruling, Justice Brendan T. Lantry dismissed the felony charges Bragg leveled against the two vaccine card fakers, who are identified as J.O. and R.V. in the court documents released on Jan. 30.
“J.O., a nursing student, and R.V., an employee with the city Department of Environmental Protection, were among hundreds accused of buying fake vaccination cards from a New Jersey stripper, Jasmine Clifford,” the New York Post wrote.
The Justice went on to exclaim that the two of 16 people brought up on charges of felony criminal possession of a forged instrument had been “cherry-picked” by Bragg’s office.
“Clearly, Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree (Penal Law § 170.25) is not among the most serious crimes in the New York Penal Law, nor are the factual allegations against Defendants R.V. and J.O. particularly serious in nature,” Justice Lantry wrote in his opinion.
Lantry went on, saying, “Moreover, the factual allegations — that the Defendants purchased fake COVID-19 vaccination cards so that they could provide same to their employer (R.V.) and school (J.O.) — do not rise to the level of the majority of the crimes adjudicated in Supreme Court, New York County, namely homicide, sexual assault, drug sale, robbery, burglary, and other violent and non-violent serious felony offenses.”
But while the Supreme Court does not usually weigh in on small-potato items like the vax card cases, he also noted how “astonished” he is over the cases that Bragg is ignoring.
In his decision, Lantry railed that Bragg “routinely — nearly daily — move[s] to dismiss significantly more serious counts or entire indictments in the interests of justice simply to negate the consequences of New York’s predicate felon sentencing statutes or to avoid immigration consequences.”
Lantry added that “These motions submitted [by Bragg and his prosecutors] are made months or even years after the 45-day period has expired to dismiss … sexual assaults, drug sales, robbery, burglary, and other violent and non-violent serious felony offenses.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling was celebrated by Republican City Council Minority Leader Joseph Borelli of Staten Island.
Borelli pointed out that J.O. only got the fake card so she could continue her nursing school education and then later ended up getting the jab out of fear of government action, anyway.
“This is what Alvin Bragg is — a clown,” Borelli said in a statement. “Imagine prosecuting a scared woman for this, even though she didn’t even use the fake card, while at the same time letting violent perps go. I’m glad the judge called him out for the world to see.”
The accusations that Bragg’s office routinely ignores serious crime were highlighted last week when he released several illegal immigrants who were seen on video attacking several New York City police officers.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
