Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg has asked the judge in Donald Trump's "hush money" case to intervene in a dispute over witnesses. 

Bragg's team accuses Trump of trying to drag out the process by ignoring prosecutors' requests for a list of experts Trump plans to call.

“Further delaying the required disclosures will hinder the People’s ability to prepare for trial,” prosecutors wrote. “Delaying defendant’s expert disclosures risks burdening the court with late motions… to exclude expert testimony.”

Bragg's complaint

The prosecutors in Trump's other cases, such as Jack Smith, have similarly accused Trump of trying to draw out the process to his advantage.

Of course, one could just as well say that Bragg and Smith are trying to railroad Trump with a show trial before Election Day arrives.

Out of all Trump's four criminal cases, the hush money case is widely considered to be the most frivolous of the bunch.

It has largely taken a backseat in the media frenzy surrounding Trump's court battles, which also include charges for "election subversion" in Washington D.C. and Georgia, and for mishandling classified documents in Florida.

In recent weeks, Trump has been wrapped up in a separate, civil fraud trial in New York brought by Democratic attorney general, Letitia James.

Bragg claims that Trump falsified business records to cover up the true nature of reimbursement payments to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who allegedly paid hush money to Stormy Daniels on Trump's behalf.

Politically motivated

When it was first introduced, the case was met with shrugs by all but the most zealous anti-Trump partisans. But that has not stopped Bragg from plodding ahead.

In bombastic court filings, Bragg has boldly accused Trump of demanding "special treatment," but Bragg's perorations on the rule of law have struck many as hypocritical, with street crime in Manhattan rising on Bragg's watch.

Earlier this month, Trump dropped a bid to have the case - which is set to go to trial in late March - moved to federal court.

In a motion to dismiss, Trump's lawyers called the case a "discombobulated package of politically motivated charges."

"The pendency of these proceedings, and the manner in which they were initiated, calls into question the integrity of the criminal justice process, is inconsistent with bedrock due process principles, and is interfering with the campaign of the leading candidate in the 2024 presidential election," they wrote.