Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg made headlines last year when he obtained 34 felony convictions against President Donald Trump.

However, one left-wing writer recently suggested that Bragg should once again bring criminal charges against Trump.

Columnist slams Trump

According to Raw Story, that argument was put forward by Slate contributor Jonathan Zasloff in an article published on Thursday.

Zasloff zeroed in on actions that Trump has taken towards Democrat-affiliated law firms, such as Perkins Coie, which helped to disseminate the now discredited Steele Dossier.

Fox News reported last month that the president signed an executive order which stripped Perkins Coie of its security clearance and access to certain federal resources.

"This is an absolute honor to sign," Fox News quoted Trump as telling reporters. "What they’ve done, it’s just terrible. It’s weaponization. You could say weaponization against a political opponent, and it should never be allowed to happen again."

The network noted how days after that order was signed, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell issued an order which temporarily blocked it from taking effect.

"Extortion racket" alleged

Zasloff maintained in his op-ed piece that Trump's behavior towards Perkins Coie and other left-leaning law firms amounts to extortion.

"He is threatening to kneecap businesses not because they are doing anything illegal, but rather just the opposite: because they are using legal channels to resist him," the columnist wrote.

It's called extortion. https://t.co/cE0JEhRDYR

— Slate (@Slate) April 10, 2025

"Trump's message is straightforward enough: Nice law firm you got here; would be too bad if something were to happen to it," Zasloff insisted.

"This is an extortion racket run straight out of the Oval Office," the writer declared before later adding, "Bragg should take this case to a grand jury, and if it indicts, it indicts."

Barriers await

Nevertheless, Raw Story acknowledged that major legal barriers would likely obstruct efforts by Bragg or any other prosecutor to target Trump.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has long held that "[t]he indictment or criminal prosecution of a sitting President would unconstitutionally undermine the capacity of the executive branch to perform its constitutionally assigned functions."

What's more, the U.S. Supreme Court held last year in Trump v. United States that even former presidents enjoy a presumption of immunity from prosecution for official actions taken while in office.