By U AC
As former President Donald Trump pushes forward with his 2024 campaign, incidents from before, during and after his term in office are now under intense legal scrutiny. According to US Law, a sitting president cannot be indicted, hence the timing is of now. As of the end of August 2023, Trump has been indicted in four separate criminal cases. Patently it is not difficult to fathom that Trump would portray these charges as election interference by Biden and his following of fascist, Marxist, and Communist democrats.
The following represent the summaries of the four current charges:
I. Manhattan “hush money” probe
A New York grand jury investigating the circumstances surrounding a “hush money” payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels aka Stephanie Clifford, in 2016 voted to indict Donald Trump on 30 March, making him the first former president in US history to face criminal charges. He was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges on 4 April.
Manhattan DA (District Attorney) Alvin Bragg told reporters that “Under New York state law, it is a felony to falsify business records with intent to defraud and intent to conceal another crime”. “That is exactly what this case is about 34 false statements made to cover up other crimes.”
The case stemmed from a payment made just days before Trump was elected president in 2016. His former attorney, Michael Cohen, arranged a wire transfer of $130,000 to Daniels in exchange for her silence about an alleged affair. Prosecutors were investigating potential falsification of business records related to reimbursements made to Cohen. Trump has denied having a sexual encounter with Daniels, and vehemently denied wrongdoing in this case.
His former fixer and lawyer Michael Cohen actually served time, for Trump, in 2018 for campaign finance violations, tax fraud and bank fraud. Cohen has been very active on the media front, admonishing Trump and forewarning others (lawyers) not to fall into the same trap as himself. His two books, Mea Culpa (My Fault) and Revenge, highlighted the details of his fall. He has met repeatedly with prosecutors this year and appeared before the grand jury twice.
Trump, as usual, has repeatedly denied allegations of wrongdoing, and lashed out at Bragg, a Democrat, calling the case a “political persecution”.
District Judge Alvin Hellerstein faulted one argument made on Trump’s behalf, that he is immune from prosecution because the payments were made while he was president. “Reimbursing Cohen for advancing hush money to Stephanie Clifford cannot be considered the performance of a constitutional duty”. “Falsifying business records to hide such reimbursement, and to transform the reimbursement into a business expense for Trump and income to Cohen, likewise does not relate to a presidential duty.”
The case is scheduled to go on trial on 25 March 2024.
II. Mar-a-Lago documents case
Trump became the first former president charged with federal crimes when he was indicted on 8 June on 37 felony counts related to alleged “willful retention” of national security information after leaving the White House. He pleaded not guilty, shockingly! An aide to Trump, Waltine Nauta, was also charged in the case and he also entered a not guilty plea.
The case was brought by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed in November 2022 to oversee two Justice Department’s criminal investigations into Trump.
The indictment accused Trump of storing boxes containing classified documents “in various locations at The Mar-a-Lago Club including in a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room.” Trump lives at Mara-Lago, a private Palm Beach, Florida, country club owned by his company.
The indictment also alleges conspiracy to obstruct justice, corruptly concealing a document or record, a “scheme to conceal”, and making false statements and representations.
Judge Aileen Cannon, a Trump appointee, has scheduled the trial for May 2024, toward the end of the Republican presidential primary season.
III. Special counsel’s 6 Jan investigation
Smith’s office has also been investigating alleged efforts to interfere with the peaceful transfer of power after Trump lost the 2020 election to Joe Biden, including the attack on the Capitol on 6 January 2021. The grand jury hearing evidence in this case indicted Trump on 1 August.
Trump is facing four charges in this indictment: conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. The indictment listed six unnamed co-conspirators. Prosecutors alleged they were “enlisted” to assist Trump in “his criminal efforts to overturn” the election “and retain power”.
“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on 6 January 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” Smith said in a brief remark after the release of the 45-page indictment outlining the charges. “As described in the indictment, it was fuelled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the US government: the nation’s process of collecting, counting and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
Trump has vehemently denied allegations of wrongdoing related to his efforts to overturn the election results and accused the special counsel of political bias.
IV: Election interference case in Fulton County, Georgia
The Fulton County district attorney’s investigation into Trump’s conduct following the 2020 election began in February 2021 — spurred by an infamous recorded 2 January 2021, phone call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump pressed him “to find 11,780 votes”.
The probe grew in size and scope over the next two years, ultimately leading to the creation of a special purpose grand jury — tasked with investigating not only Trump but also alleged efforts of numerous allies to thwart the outcome of Georgia’s election, which President Biden won. The special purpose grand jury had subpoena power, but could not issue indictments. The pane of 23 Georgians interviewed 75 witnesses in 2022 and completed a report in January, which was provided to Fulton County DA Fani Willis.
Among those interviewed by the special purpose grand jury were many Trump allies, including his former attorney, Rudy Giuliani; South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham; and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows. It also interviewed Georgia officials who are among Trump’s political critics, such as Raffen sperger and Georgia Gov Brian Kemp.
In February, a judge ordered a small portion of the report to be made public. The grand jurors wrote that they found “no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election,” and that a “”majority of the Grand Jury believes that perjury may have been committed by one or more witnesses testifying before it.”
A grand jury was empanelled over the summer, and on August 14, 2023, it returned an indictment against Trump and 18 allies on charges of election fraud, racketeering and other counts related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Those charged include Giuliani and Meadows as well as John Eastman, a conservative lawyer; Jeffrey Clark, a Trump Justice Department official; and Sidney Powell and Jenna Ellis, lawyers who pushed baseless claims of voter fraud.
Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, better known as RICO, allows the group to be charged for criminal acts that are alleged to have taken place both in Georgia or outside the state in furtherance of the conspiracy to overturn the outcome of the presidential election in Georgia.
The 98-page indictment listed 41 total counts, including 13 against Trump, and notes there are 30 un-indicted co-conspirators. The indictment described several schemes allegedly used by Trump and his co-defendants to attempt to reverse his electoral loss, including making false statements to state legislatures and top state officials; creating fake Electoral College documents and recruiting supporters to cast false votes at the Georgia Capitol; harassing Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman; and “corruptly” soliciting senior Justice Department officials and then-Vice President Mike Pence. It also accuses members of the “enterprise” of stealing data, including ballot images, voting equipment software and personal voter information, from Coffee County, Georgia, and making false statements to government investigators.
Trump has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. In a statement following the indictment, attorneys for Trump criticised the investigation, saying “This one-sided grand jury presentation relied on witnesses who harbour their own personal and political interests.”
Can Trump run if he is convicted?
This is the simplest question of the bunch. The answer is yes.
The US Constitution sets very few eligibility requirements for potential presidents. They must be at least 35 years old, be “natural born” citizens and have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.
There are no limitations based on character or criminal records. While some states prohibit felons from running for state and local office, these laws do not apply to federal offices.
How about 14th Amendment Section 3?
The easiest disqualification argument boils down to Section 3 of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment, which says that a public official is not eligible to assume public office if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the United States, or had “given aid or comfort to the enemies there of ”, unless they are granted amnesty by a two-thirds vote of Congress.
The process would be such that the blue states would refuse to put him on the ballot, stating the above section. That would instantly summon lawsuits by Republicans, for the first of its kind case to be brought to the Supreme Court. The red states’ inclusion of Trump would also bring lawsuits by democrats, and they would also end up for a final decision by the Supreme Court. Trump is pushing every single boundary into the uncharted territories and the world watches with bated breath, petrified of the return of Agent Orange.
