Donald Trump was charged this Thursday with handling classified documents. The Republican, who plans to return to the White House in 2024, is the first former president to be indicted on federal crimes in the United States. The trial is one of a long list that the controversial politician drags through the courts. His eventual new presidential candidacy was put to the test by a grand jury. This is a variation of the traditional editing system that we know from American films and series. In 95% of cases, this usually leads to indictment by the public prosecutor.
Trump’s impeachment trial, the second so far in 2023, has sent seismic waves through American politics. Especially in the Republican Party. Californian Kevin McCarthy, speaker of the House of Representatives, has criticized the action published by the former president on his social network Truth Social. “It is unreasonable for the President to subordinate the opposition leader’s nominee,” the congressman wrote on Twitter.
In reality, Trump’s new legal troubles were the result of a grand jury session in Miami. Unlike ordinary trials, which consist of a judge, 12 members of the jury, the prosecution (prosecutor) and the defense, the prosecution was decided by a panel of 23 people. At least 12 had to vote to allegedly charge the ex-president with seven counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, malicious withholding of national security documents and violations of the Espionage Act. Trump could face up to several years in prison if found guilty. For the time being, the politician must appear before a district court in the city at 3 p.m. on Tuesday.
Grand jury indictments are often controversial. Especially since the allegation is being decided in complete secrecy, which is in contrast to the absolute transparency sought in court proceedings. Grand Jury sessions last for an extended period of time, which can range from 18 to 36 months. During this time, a prosecutor, in this case the specially appointed Jack Smith, discloses the evidence he was able to obtain to support the allegation. On that occasion, it involved witness testimonies, CCTV footage from Trump’s Florida mansion, Mar-a-Lago, and other documentary evidence. The members of the jury meet at least once a week or several times a month to evaluate these elements.
All of this happens behind closed doors. Neither a judge nor a defendant’s defense attorney is present at the hearing. Unlike regular court proceedings, where prosecutors must prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, the prosecutor’s goal is to convince the majority of the grand jury that their arguments are strong enough to secure a conviction in court and before a judge , a process by which this can take months and even years. According to the Justice Department’s Bureau of Statistics, between 95% and 99% of cases brought before a grand jury result in an indictment.
This high percentage leads to criticism of the procedure. When news broke in March that Trump was accused of paying for porn actress Stormy Daniels to remain silent, former Vice President Mike Pence recalled an old adage popular in law schools. “A ham sandwich can be implied,” the man who hoped to win the 2024 Republican nomination said on CNN. Former Indiana governor’s words to journalist Wolf Blitzer underscored how easy it is to obtain an indictment through the grand jury.
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Now the most difficult task for the public prosecutor’s office begins, which must now prepare the transport of his case through a court. For now, Trump is due to appear before a judge next week. The judge will set the terms of the former president’s release in court at this hearing. After that, the prosecution led by Smith must share the evidence against him with the White House candidate’s attorneys. A date for the trial must be set within the next 70 days, which does not derail Trump’s ambitions to regain power.
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