The unprecedented indictment of President Donald Trump has come under the spotlight and fueled a public debate about whether this case is/is justified and shows that no one is above the law or is a political hacking operation aimed at preventing Trump’s chances in the 2024 presidential election.
Trump is expected to be arraigned next week, Manhattan District Attorney’s Office spokesman Alvin Bragg said in a statement that he is currently coordinating with prosecutors. of Trump’s release of the first president. Here’s what you need to know about the indictment, which was released on Thursday, making Trump the first former US president to face criminal charges.
Trump ‘ready to fight’
Joe Tacopina, Trump’s lawyer, told The Epoch Times that the former president is expected to be in New York next week for the trial, with April 4 as a possibility.
“He’s angry, frustrated, but he’s ready to fight. He’s a really tough guy — his knee doesn’t go out, so he’ll be good to go,” Tacopina said. Tacopina told NBC News on Friday that there was “zero chance” Trump would accept a plea on the matter and that the former president “wouldn’t run to Mar-a-Lago,” his Florida home.
“There is no crime. I don’t know if it will go to trial because we have a big legal challenge.
Although it is not believed that Trump will resist arrest, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has said that he will not help with possible crimes if Trump refuses to support his impeachment.
Reports say Bragg is investigating Trump for allegedly misrepresenting unsolicited photos during the 2016 campaign to actress Stormy Daniels to cover up the allegations. allegations, which Trump has denied.
What is the case about? Bragg convened a grand jury to investigate Trump’s involvement in the $130,000 payment to Daniels.
Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, said he paid Daniels through Trump’s shell company, the Trump Organization, and recorded it as legal fees. Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018 to violating campaign finance laws in connection with the payment.
In his plea agreement, Cohen said he paid the money at Trump’s direction and was reimbursed by the Trump Organization, although he previously said he paid the money out of his own pocket. . Federal prosecutors said the payments were illegal and an undisclosed contribution to the Trump campaign, but declined to press charges against the former president.
A Manhattan grand jury is said to have investigated whether any crime was committed in arranging or registering Daniels’ debt, although those charges are still under wraps. Although the indictment is still pending, the case against Trump is believed to be based on Cohen’s testimony.
Exclusion ‘Sin within a crime
Former US Attorney William Barr condemned the charges, calling them “disgraceful” and “politically motivated”.
In an interview at the National Review Institute Ideas Summit, Barr said that he views the case against Trump as a judicial abuse and “weakness.”
“Judging by the news reports … it’s the archetypal abuse of the judiciary that gets involved in successful politics, and that’s a shame,” Barr said when asked how he spoke about the case.
Barr said Bragg appears to have turned a technical violation into a crime, adding that it’s something federal prosecutors choose not to pursue as a crime. “So for a state attorney to try to use this as a way to get into a criminal case is kind of outrageous,” Barr said.
Legal analysts said that Trump’s defense attorneys will raise several issues when he is brought to court, including that the statute of limitations prohibits prosecution and that the case is based on an incorrect legal opinion. Barr said that for the case against the former president to be successful, Bragg must prove that Trump falsified records with intent to deceive.
Under New York state law, falsifying business documents by itself is a misdemeanor, but if the documents are used to fraudulently conceal or commit another crime, the charge can be elevated to a felony. The former attorney general said he believes Bragg is misapplying federal campaign finance laws in pursuing the charges.
“On the federal question, they got the law completely, in my opinion, I don’t think the Department [of Justice] will support the interpretation of the law that they are passing, paying … shhh l money. is the input hand in the media,” he said. “So I think this is a weak case,” Barr said.
Jesse Binnall, one of Trump’s lawyers, said Friday there was “no legal basis” for the case against the former president.
