The hush money case against Donald Trump could backfire. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s pending case against Donald Trump over hush money payments sure doesn’t look like a slam dunk. …

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Centrist political commentator Michael Smerconish, for example, has derided Bragg’s case against Trump as “weak.” CNN legal analyst and frequent Trump critic Van Jones has called on Bragg to call off the dogs in the current probe.

Time Magazine recently ran the headline, “Why Even Some of Trump’s Critics Think the Stormy Daniels Case Is Weak.”

There’s hardly bipartisan consensus that the present case lacks merit. Yet there’s been much more waffling from both the centre and centre-left than in prior instances where Trump has faced accusations of law-breaking.

That should mean something to the district attorney.

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…Trump faces a blizzard of more weighty charges, including in a Georgia election-rigging probe, a Justice Department investigation into the “Stop the Steal” movement, a special counsel inquiry into the mishandling of classified documents, and various allegations of financial violations.

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…there’s a reason why the Justice Department has long declined to bring charges against Trump in precisely this case.

By throwing out caution, Bragg risks not only his own credibility, and the credibility of his indictment against Trump. He risks that of numerous other prosecutions — legitimate ones — bearing on conduct where Trump has almost certainly acted illegally.