Image of Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, sourced from Vox.
The historic heads of the Executive Branch have never been pure of sketchy dealings, unjust actions, and behavior beyond the law. The most famous presidential misdoings are found in the twenty century; Teapot Dome under the Harding administration, the famous Watergate scandal under Nixon, and the wide-reaching yet parallel corruptions in the Reagan and Clinton administrations. Sometimes, officials suffer the slammer, but never has the hand of the Justice Department dared to reach above members of the Cabinet. Put simply, until March 28, no President, former or present, has even been charged with a crime.
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted in a landmark expression of the rule of law, dividing the nation as sharply as ever. Only, Trump’s indictment is for a crime that precedes his exploits during and following the election of 2020, as well as the shady dealings of his administration. Rather, Trump has been charged with 34 accounts of falsified business records; hush money paid through shell accounts in the months before the election of 2016. Various parties with damaging evidence against his name were silenced in hopes of improving his chances of victory, a move commonly known as a "catch-and-kill" scheme. Most famous among the bribed is Stormy Daniels, an actor who had an affair with Trump. Daniels was given a hefty sum to keep quiet and now stands as one of the case’s prime accounts. However, this in itself is not why the State of New York has summoned Trump to trial. As stated by District Attorney Alvin Bragg,
“The People of the State of New York allege that Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election. … Manhattan is home to the country’s most significant business market. We cannot allow New York businesses to manipulate their records to cover up criminal conduct. As the Statement of Facts describes, the trail of money and lies exposes a pattern that, the People allege, violates one of New York’s basic and fundamental business laws. As this office has done time and time again, we today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law.”
Furthermore, the sum paid to Daniels, $130,000, exceeded a federal campaign cap, and the action as a whole is against New York election law, turning the whole affair into a major conspiracy. To back up the claims is Michael Cohen, an attorney and former member of Trump’s inner circle. Known as a “fixer” of sorts, Cohen was the one who sent the money to Daniel’s lawyer and alleges that the order to do so came from the ex-president himself. Initially, Trump wholly denied all allegations, but has since switched his stance in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence.
Of course, in their typical fashion, members of the Republican party high and low have denounced the legal proceedings, directly mirroring Trump’s allegations that the execution of the rule of law is a miscarriage of justice, instigated solely from a political place. House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan has since sent a subpoena to a former member of Bragg’s team, Mark Pomerantz, in an attempt to silence the case, with the Republican majority House of Representatives threatening further action. This act joins many others in a line of attempts to stop this case at all costs. This all parallels the incendiary remarks and actions made by these same members regarding the various other crimes Trump has been accused of. Before the indictment was even released, Jordan and a number of other Republican officials demanded documents regarding Bragg’s case. The DA’s office responded by pointing out how, given the early intervention, such an action in a New York case constitutes an immensely ironic overreach of federal power. To block the attacks made against him, Bragg has begun a lawsuit against Jordan, hoping to counter a plain and simple “campaign of intimidation and attack.” The lawsuit hopes to slow or negate the subpoena, and to defend against further assaults on the witnesses and members of the case.
This is not the only case of legal trouble Trump has on his plate. The ex-president lies at the center of three other probable convictions. Firstly, the federal committee for the investigation of the January 6th Terrorist Attack released their final report back in December, arguing the existence of sufficient evidence for 4 major charges - the obstruction of an official proceeding, that being the transition of power, conspiracy to defraud the United States through his lies of voter fraud, conspiracy to knowingly make a false statement due to his participation in a plot to submit fake slates of electors, and assisting, aiding or comforting an insurrection, for the obvious reasons. Next comes specifically from Georgia, where Trump attempted to pressure government officials into voter fraud. Though this conspiracy declared was unsuccessful, sufficient evidence of phone calls between the then-candidate and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Trump demanded that he “find” 11780 votes, enough to win the state back from Biden. The final of these potential suits is for the hundreds of classified and top secret federal documents found hidden in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, stolen potentially as leverage following his famous transition out of power. Federal investigators suspect that Trump may have “shown off” these classified documents to major presidential donors. These three cases have been quietly progressing, but no official indictment has occurred.
The outcome of Trump’s legal troubles cannot be predicted. With increasing radicalization within the Republican party, the current cases against the former president serve as yet another frothing pot on the stove of the world climate. As every generation since the First World War has done, we once again find ourselves on a new precipice, another shaky foundation upon which our future lies. Across the county and beyond the sea, pressure only grows. Yet we remain, changed only by the broadening of our horizons, believing our calamities out of the dozens of the past to be the final nail, the last straw. But the world chugs on. Thus, in these polarizing times, I suggest awareness, but not supreme focus on the matters of today. It’s a chaotic world out there, and the troubles never remain the same. New ones will take their place. It is the cycle of a globalized world. So remain open; question the world, but refrain from concluding. It is the only way to remain independent from the mobs of today.
Works Cited: https://pastebin.com/igFveaZv
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