by Alessandro Sala
The lawyer: “He should present himself on Tuesday”. There are over 30 cases of corporate fraud
The Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Donald Trump. This was announced by the New York Times. The tycoon is the first president in American history to face criminal prosecution.
The exact allegations are not yet known, the US newspaper explains, but the case revolves around an alleged illegal payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 White House campaign. The money would have been paid so that the woman would not disclose your relationship. The case has come back to the fore in recent days after Trump himself publicly reckoned with the possibility of his arrest.
The former tenant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue has always declared himself irrelevant and has always rejected all allegations. And he did so after the announcement of his indictment, first laconically describing himself as “completely innocent” and then, as he said, commenting with rather colorful statements: “It’s a political persecution, an interference in the elections”. And again, “This witch hunt against me will backfire on Biden.” Then a direct attack on the Manhattan Attorney: “Alvin Bragg was picked and paid for by George Soros and it’s shameful. Instead of stopping the unprecedented crime wave that has engulfed New York, he’s doing Joe Biden’s dirty work.”
Even Speaker of the House, Republican Kevin McCarthy, attacked Attorney Bragg: “He caused irreparable damage to our country when he tried to interfere in the presidential election. While regularly releasing violent criminals to terrorize the public, Alvin Bragg has armed our justice system against President Trump. The American people will not tolerate this injustice, and the House will take action against their unprecedented abuse of power.” His main opponent in the Republican House, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, also sided with Trump, who announced that his government would be formed “not responding to the extradition request”.
No comments were received from the White House, which the New York Times has attempted to contact. No comment either from the Justice Department, which in turn is investigating the former President over the events surrounding the attack on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021 and over the top secret documents found at the Mar-a-Lago residence
The formal arraignment before a judge is scheduled to take place after the weekend, early next week. The prosecutor has already contacted Trump’s lawyers to coordinate how the tycoon will hand himself over to the authorities. There has been much debate in recent weeks about the possibility that the former president might decide to make his eventual arrest spectacular, present himself to the public as a victim and unleash a protest movement across the country that would act as a viaticum for his new race for the presidency. In fact, the indictment will not prevent the former president from campaigning: a clean criminal record is not one of the US Constitutional requirements for running for office. Trump could have been barred from political activity only if he was guilty of the two impeachment trials in which he was acquitted.
Donald Trump was at his residence in Mar-a-Lago, Florida at the time his indictment was announced. According to sources close to the former president and quoted by The New York Times, his entourage was caught off guard and no grand jury decision was expected by the end of April. However, one of his lawyers, Chris Kine, has already stated that he considers the actions of the prosecutor to be unlawful, “it has no legal basis whatsoever”.
The first reaction from Trump’s family was that of one of his sons, Eric, who tweeted that the indictment was a “political act.” Contacted by the British tabloid Chron, Eric himself then spoke of an “attack without cause”, an example of the “decay of American law”. “They attack him – he added – for daring to challenge the political elite, they opportunistically attack a political opponent in an election year”. Brother Donald Jr., the eldest, was tougher, saying on his podcast, “Stuff like that would make Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot pale.” And he delivered a sinister warning to Republicans, who distanced themselves from their father and not him defended : «Wait until they come for you, because they will come».
Stormy Daniels’ attorney, Clark Brewster, also chimed in on social media: “The impeachment of Donald Trump is not a cause for celebration,” he wrote in a tweet. Now let truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law.” In the same vein, Michael Cohen, Trump’s former attorney and key witness in the case, commented: “I’m not happy to release this statement, and I want everyone, too of the presumption of innocence. However, I take comfort in the knowledge that no one is above the law, not even a former president. Today’s indictment is not the end of this chapter, it’s the beginning.” And he adds: “Acceptance is important and I claim my testimony and the evidence I have presented to the New York Attorney’s Office.”
According to CNN, Trump called key allies in Congress to seek support after the impeachment. The tycoon would have spoken to some party leaders in the House of Representatives and members of the commission investigating District Attorney Alvin Bragg, owner of the investigation that led to Trump’s indictment. During the calls, dubbed “verification,” the ex-president told his allies that he wanted to continue the fight against the allegations.
(News will be updated…)
March 30, 2023 (Modification March 31, 2023 | 06:05)
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