Donald Trump faces criminal charges – Politics

Now the time has actually come donald trump becomes the first former US president to be indicted. On Thursday afternoon local time, it was announced that New York prosecutor Alvin Bragg is charging Trump with allegedly disguised payment of hush money to a former porn star. A jury had previously voted in favor of Bragg’s move.

For the first time in the history of the United States of America, a former head of state and current candidate has been officially accused of a crime. The news is likely to shape the USA and especially the beginning of the election campaign, because Trump had announced months ago that he wanted to run for the Republican presidency again in 2024.

If this defendant or his lawyers are formally informed, then Trump would have to turn himself in and go to New York or be arrested and taken there in the next few days. That would not mean a longer arrest, there is probably no risk of flight. But the entrepreneur and politician would be forced to be photographed and fingerprinted in the New York courthouse. He would also need to be informed of the allegations and, routinely, his right to remain silent and seek legal advice. Like any defendant, theoretically.

In practice, the case and possible consequences have been debated for days, and Trump himself had really started it. Almost two weeks ago on Saturday, he announced on his social network Social Truth that he would be put under arrest on Tuesday. That didn’t happen then, the days went by without a report of completion. Recently it was said that the matter could still drag on. At the moment when the decision was made, hardly anyone expected it.

The vote of the grand jury of 23 US citizens came as a surprise on March 30th. However, the authorities have been preparing for this for some time since Trump had repeatedly pointed out very directly that there might be violent reactions. Most recently, he threatened that “such a false accusation” could have catastrophic consequences for our country”. He wrote of “potential death and destruction” and attacked the prosecutor Bragg: “Why and who would do such a thing? Just a degenerate psychopath who genuinely hates America.”

Trump: “Attack on our country”

On Thursday evening he railed against “these criminals and radical left-wing monsters” who had accused him. “This is an attack on our country like never before. A nation in serious decline. So sad!” Democrats in the US Congress, on the other hand, announced: “If we want to be a nation of laws,” said Democratic Representative Adam Schiff, “then we must apply the law equally and to everyone, regardless of their status.”

Police officers in New York and other US cities are on alert, and the district court in southern Manhattan has been sealed off. It is uncertain whether and when there will actually be a trial against Trump. Nor is this historic cause likely to persuade him to withdraw his bid for the White House. Legally, nothing would stop him from continuing to run and trying to prevail in the Republican primaries against likely rivals like Ron DeSantis.

There is growing skepticism in moderate Republican circles as to whether Trump is the right man to try again given his various scandals. However, according to polls, he is still the party’s most popular representative, with a stable electoral base. His most fanatical supporters tend to be strengthened by the prosecution, and even more moderate Republicans rail against the judiciary, which is being exploited by the left. District Attorney Bragg is a Democrat and was elected to his post.

Trump is accused of all things for the first time in what is probably the most harmless of his various cases. Exactly what the indictment looks like is a secret. In 2006, Trump reportedly had an affair with an adult actress named Stormy Daniels. In 2016, his attorney at the time, Michael Cohen, apparently paid the woman $130,000 to keep her silent before the election. He then reportedly got the money back plus a surcharge from Trump, who appears to have declared the sum as legal fees, which could be considered a campaign finance violation and criminal offense. Cohen was convicted, served time in prison and is now the key witness.

The content of other investigations is much more dramatic. In the state of Georgia, the question is whether the then incumbent president tried to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory there by pressuring regional decision-makers. In Washington, a special investigator on behalf of the Justice Department is dealing with Trump’s alleged contribution to the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021, he had incited the mob. In the spring of 2023, Americas hopes that the next wave of violence is not around the corner.