The more the legal siege surrounding Donald Trump tightens, the more support the former president is gaining among Republicans ahead of the 2024 presidential election. This is confirmed by the latest poll by the conservative news chain Fox News a few hours before a New York grand jury announced his indictment a secret payment to porn actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an extramarital affair. The poll released this Thursday gave Trump 30 points more than Ron DeSantis, twice as many as in February. The historic indictment, far from jeopardizing his political future, could multiply his clout.
The insinuation, a move that would have ended a traditional politician’s aspirations, is being used by Trump to further his attempt to return to the White House in 2024. The Republican ex-president made the attack on prosecutor Alvin Bragg the focus of his first campaign rally and constantly uses this topic to raise funds and solicit donations. While impeachment might serve him well in the Republican primary and appeals to the idea of being the victim of a witch hunt by the Democratic establishment, it seems more difficult that it will help him win the presidential election (if he wins the nomination) . by 2024) as it could scare off more moderate voters.
THE IMPEACHMENT OF TRUMP, LIVE
The picture of the ex-president arriving at the Manhattan Attorney’s office, likely tied hands out like white-collar criminals, will be the next step. The point, in a case as sensitive as this first allegation against a serving or retired US president, is that Trump’s delivery be as orderly as possible, that is, without surprises or more fuss than his usual rhetoric. Prosecutors in charge coordinated Thursday night’s delivery with the Republican’s attorneys “to appear in court, which remains classified,” a prosecutor’s spokesman said in a statement. The CNN chain pointed out that as many as 34 charges of commercial falsehood are pending as the Trump Organization booked the actress’ bribe as a “legal expense.” “Information will be provided when the release date is finalized,” the prosecutor’s statement concluded.
When Trump called on March 18 for his supporters to protest the “political persecution” he is said to be facing, images of a Trumpist mob storming the Capitol in January 2021 breathed new life. Fear of a repeat of the violence is a top concern for city officials, who have been evaluating contingency plans for weeks, including mobilizing the entire city police department, the largest in the country. Plans face all eventualities because, as Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney and prosecutor’s witness, stressed this Thursday, the indictment and alleged extradition of Trump are “not the end, but the beginning.” Cohen was responsible for paying the $130,000 to Daniels in October 2016, 12 days before the election that put Trump in the White House, to avoid a scandal that would blow up his victory.
Supporters of President Donald Trump on Thursday in Smyrna, Georgia.ELIJAH NOUVELAGE (AFP)
Subscribe to EL PAÍS to follow all the news and read without limits.
subscribe to
Silence about deadlines
Though prosecutors have been scrupulously silent about the deadlines, one of Trump’s attorneys, Joe Tacopina, told NBC this Thursday that they expect his client to go to the Manhattan DA’s office early next week. Another attorney on the team, Susan Necheles, has indicated it will be on Tuesday, according to the New York Times. A valley date of the calendar coinciding with Spring Break or Spring Break, corresponding to Holy Week and the Jewish Passover, and when the administrative offices are working at half-hours.
The grand jury indictment means only that Trump has been charged with a crime or crimes, so arrest, whether by voluntary surrender or by force, is only one step in the process. Local media reported this Thursday that following the hypothetical arrest, it is possible that the former president will be fingerprinted and a photograph taken for the police file, which could be leaked to the press. The multiplier effect, in Republican public opinion, that a Trump will be reported as a criminal – doomed to be a victim – can overwhelm Trump supporters.
However, it remains to be seen whether he will voluntarily agree to do so. Judging by his reaction, he doesn’t seem to agree with the inevitability of surrender; On the contrary, this Thursday he hid behind the “witch hunt” that he claims to be the object of his democratic rivals, “those thugs of the radical left” as he defined them in a message published by his social network. “This is an unprecedented attack on our country,” he wrote in virulent capital letters on Truth Social. “America is now a Third World nation in serious decline. How sad!”.
“I can’t have a fair trial!”
“You know I can’t have a fair trial in New York!” she later added on Truth Social. Should his lawyers be wrong, the Republican, holed up in his Mar-a-Lago, Fla., residence for weeks — he turned down prosecutors’ offer to testify during the investigation — could count on the help of his co-religionist and potential rival at the Presidential election, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has said he will not extradite him.
All eyes are on the office of Manhattan Attorney Democrat Alvin Bragg, Trump’s favorite Beast Noire, whom he has once again dismissed as a wimp at the hands of financier George Soros. The Trump case, the investigation into alleged campaign finance rule violations in the 2016 election that would ultimately earn Daniels black wages, was smoldering in his office when Bragg was elected prosecutor in the 2021 Democratic primary from predecessor, Cyrus Jr Vance, also a Democrat, and was on the verge of derailing after the two lead investigators resigned in early 2022 over doubts about Bragg’s determination to move forward. Many thought at the time it would be dismissed, but testimonies from Cohen, who had become a hostage to his former employer, and Daniels strengthened the investigation.
“For the first time in our nation’s history, a president has been impeached. It comforts me to test the validity of the adage that no one is above the law, not even a past president. Accountability is really important,” Trump’s former attorney told CNN, not without reminding of the due presumption of innocence. “Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is not a cause for celebration,” Daniel’s attorney Clifford Brewster said on Twitter. “You have to respect the hard and conscientious work of the grand juries. Now this truth and justice prevail. No one is above the law.” On the same social network, Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, celebrated the indictment with a toast. Thank you all for your support and love. I have so many messages that I can’t reply… Me I don’t want to spill my champagne either.”
Follow all international information on Facebook and Twitteror in our weekly newsletter.
Subscribe to continue reading
Read without limits