The business records case against former President Donald Trump is "political" and would have never been brought if he weren't the defendant, said former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
"The attorney general's case in New York, frankly, should have never been brought," Cuomo, a Democrat, said Friday during an appearance on "Real Time with Bill Maher."
"If his name was not Donald Trump and he wasn't running for president — I'm the former AG [attorney general] in New York — I'm telling you, that case would have never been brought. And that's what's offensive to people.
"And it should be, because if there's anything left, it's belief in the justice system," he added.
Trump in late May became the first former American president to be convicted of felony crimes as a New York jury found him guilty of all 34 charges in a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election through a payment to a porn actor who said the two had sex.
Judge Juan M. Merchan set sentencing for July 11, just days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where GOP leaders, who remained resolute in their support in the aftermath of the verdict, are expected to formally make him their nominee.
Cuomo said the trial is a threat to democracy.
"When you have this country believing you are playing politics with the justice system and you're trying to put people in jail or convict them for political reasons, then we have a real problem," he added.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.