Indicting Donald J. Trump
It looks as if the Manhattan, New York District Attorney, Alvin Bragg will be the first one out of the gate. It is a fairly simple case; Trump and his attorney, Michael Cohen paid off Stormy Daniels (a porn star) during the 2016 campaign so that she would not tell her story of an affair with Trump while his wife, Melania was about to give birth. They did not report the expenditure as a campaign contribution as required by federal law during the campaign for obvious reasons; instead, they concealed it. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/mar/19/trump-manhattan-criminal-charges-hush-money-stormy-daniels Cohen has pleaded guilty, disclosed his role, and served his time. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/03/21/key-players-trump-indictment-alvin-bragg-stormy-daniels-michael-cohen/11515834002/ This is a routine case of destroying and falsifying business records that only has any prominence because of the status of the potential defendant. Siven Watt, Norman L. Eisen and Ryan Goodman, Survey of Past New York Felony Prosecutions for Falsifying Business Records, Just Security, March 21, 2023 The grand jury’s recommendation should be forthcoming in the next few days. A similar payment arrangement during the 2016 electoral campaign was made between Trump, Cohen, and the National Enquirer to suppress the story of Trump’s affair with Karen McDougal, a Playboy Playmate. The National Enquirer was fined for its role, but Trump escaped accountability when the three Republican Commissioners on the Federal Elections Commission refused to act against Trump. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/national-enquirer-publisher-pay-187-500-fine-trump-hush-money-n1269370 Earlier this year, the Manhattan District Attorney’s office under Bragg’s leadership won multiple felony convictions and maximum sentences of the Trump Organization for a long history of payroll tax fraud. https://www.manhattanda.org/d-a-bragg-trump-corporation-trump-payroll-corp-sentenced-to-pay-maximum-fines-under-law-following-felony-trial-conviction/
Trump tried to overturn his 2020 electoral defeat in Georgia in two ways: 1) he asked and sought to compel the Republican Secretary of State to find him 12,000 votes, and 2) in concert with Rudy Giuliani he tried to submit a slate of fake electors to Congress and the National Archives. These efforts were recorded so there is little doubt about what occurred. These are extremely serious charges and could include racketeering and conspiracy https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/20/politics/georgia-racketeering-conspiracy-trump-willis/index.html A special grand jury has heard the evidence and made its recommendations. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fulton-county-superior-court-judge-robert-mcburney-interview-trump-investigation-georgia/ A second grand jury has been impaneled and would need to make its own separate recommendations as to whether to indict Trump, and then the District Attorney needs to make her own independent decision as to whether to charge Trump. Trump is trying to suppress the grand jury report about his conduct, disqualify the presiding judge, and bar the District Attorney from making any decisions in his case. https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/20/politics/fulton-county-trump-filing/index.html
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating Trump on two separate issues: 1) taking classified documents, concealing them, and refusing to return them to the National Archives, and 2) trying to overthrow the government after his election defeat, including fomenting the January 6 insurrection. https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/23306941/donald-trump-crimes-criminal-investigation-mar-a-lago-fbi-january-6-election-georgia-new-york The January 6 Committee identified Trump as the prime mover behind these events and referred him and other accomplices to the DOJ for investigation and prosecution, where warranted. https://www.govinfo.gov/collection/january-6th-committee-final-report?path=/GPO/January%206th%20Committee%20Final%20Report%20and%20Supporting%20Materials%20Collection The Committee unanimously recommended that DOJ assess Trump’s criminal culpability on four counts: 1) Obstruction of an Official Proceeding, 2) Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, 3) Conspiracy to Make a False Statement, and 4) “Incite,” “Assist” or “Aid and Comfort” an Insurrection. While there is still much we do not know because key witnesses took the 5th, the January 6 Committee has done an excellent job of laying out the facts and events leading up to the Capitol takeover. Moreover, many of us witnessed the events on our TVs as they occurred, and we saw and heard the many Trump lies, calls to arms and provocations leading up to January 6 and in its aftermath.
We are not a nation that prosecutes our ex-Presidents after they leave office. On the other hand, we do as a nation believe in accountability, the rule of law and that no person is above the law, even a very rich and powerful ex-President. It is hard to believe despite the mass of evidence accumulated by experienced investigation teams in these different jurisdictions, that many GOP (the party of law and order) members of Congress are still adamantly defending Trump and trying to stop and block the prosecutions of his egregious violations of the law and his attacks on the very fundamentals of our American democracy.