Donald Trump, former president of the United States, called on his followers to protest after he assured that he could be “arrested”. The Republican’s incitement led the Manhattan prosecutor to declare that he will not be intimidated. Legal experts say that a possible trial call could take more than a year. If so, it would arrive in the middle of the presidential campaign for the White House in 2024 to which Trump aspires.
The New York prosecutor, the Democrat Alvin Bragg, in charge of one of the investigations against former President Donald Trump, assured this Sunday, March 19, that he will not be intimidated after the ex-president’s calls for protests.
Bragg noted in an email sent to his employees: “We do not tolerate attempts to intimidate our office or threaten the rule of law in New York. Our law enforcement partners will ensure that any specific or credible threat against the office will be investigated and that appropriate safeguards are in place.”
This Saturday Trump announced on his social network Truth Social that it is possible that he will be arrested this Tuesday by the Prosecutor’s Office due to the concealment of an alleged payment of $130,000 that he made to the porn actress Stormy Daniels in 2016 in exchange for her silence for a supposed love affair.
Trump denies all the accusations. While her lawyer has accused Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, of extortion.
Legal experts say that any trial against the former president would still be more than a year away. If so, it could coincide with the final months of the 2024 White House presidential race, which Trump wants to be a part of. According to surveys like that of Quinnipiac Universityleads the polls over other rivals such as Ron DeSantis for the Republican nomination.
For former Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Karen Friedman Agnifilo, the average case in New York takes more than a year to go from arraignment to trial. Furthermore, Trump’s case is far from typical, so the former president could be tried in the middle of the presidential campaign or even after the election.
The election results could change your future. If elected, it is unknown what will happen, since there are no precedents in the United States. He couldn’t pardon himself from the state charges either.
“This is unprecedented and it’s hard for me to say,” the former prosecutor said when asked if a judge would put Trump on trial close to the election. “I think it’s complex.”
If impeached, Trump would be the first former president of this country to face criminal prosecution.
In addition to the New York case, the former president faces an election interference investigation in Georgia and a pair of federal investigations into his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 assault on the United States Capitol. He is also being investigated for having kept classified documents in his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida, after leaving the White House.
The former president did not hesitate to launch strong accusations against prosecutor Bragg. Trump assures that he seeks to obtain political returns for his investigation. He also attacked President Joe Biden.
“Biden wants to pretend he has nothing to do with the Manhattan DA’s assault on democracy when, in fact, he has ‘filled’ the DA’s office with people from the Department of Justice,” he told Truth Social.
The evidence against Trump
According to ‘The New York Times’, the investigation is focused on demonstrating the falsification by the Trump Organization of commercial records. This is generally a misdemeanor, as documents show they repaid a payment to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, who advanced money to Stormy Daniels.
Federal prosecutors charged Cohen with receiving false payments registered as legal services.
But to elevate the charge to a felony, prosecutors must prove that Trump falsified records to cover up a second offense. The outlet claims they could argue that the payment violated a state campaign finance law, as it would have been an illegal secret donation to boost his White House campaign in 2016.
Trump’s lawyers may challenge that theory. “There are a lot of possibilities,” said David Shapiro, a former FBI agent and professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. “This is a dream case for defense attorneys,” he added.
Republicans defend Trump
The Republican governor of New Hampshire, Chris Sununu, sentenced in the program ‘State of the Union’ of the American media ”, that the case of the former president is arousing sympathy among people in his party. He also claimed that he has spoken to some people who were not “big Trump supporters.” “Everyone felt that he was being attacked,” he said.
Sununu was asked on the television show if Trump is responsible for ensuring that the protests he calls do not turn violent, to which he replied in the affirmative. But, he added, “you can’t blame the former president” if they get out of hand.
Former advisers to the former president, including HR McMaster and Gary Cohn, have urged supporters to respond peacefully to any developments this week.
Some Republicans such as former Trump Vice President Mike Pence and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy suggested that a possible trial would be politically motivated.
Trump’s arrest
Any indictment against Donald Trump would require him to travel to the Manhattan prosecutor’s office to turn himself in. In high-profile cases, the defendant’s lawyers agree with the prosecutors on the date and time of delivery instead of detaining him at his house.
If he turned himself in, Trump would have his fingerprints taken and his mugshot taken. He would also appear in court for the reading of the charges. According to legal experts, if that is the case, he may be released and allowed to return home.
Joe Tacopina, Trump’s lawyer, told the US media ‘CNBC’ that the former president would turn himself in if he is formally accused. If he were to refuse to go voluntarily, he could request extradition from the state of Florida, where he currently resides.
With Reuters and EFE
