Trump: The first time on the bench for a former president – 2024-04-17 10:38:33

The first criminal trial of a former president in the history of the American nation begins today. The hearing of the “Hush-Money” case (“Bribery”), in which Mr Donald Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, starting with the bribery of the porn star Stormy Danielswill turn all eyes on the New York State Supreme Court.

The irony is that while the former president and current candidate is facing a total of four criminal cases and 91 felonies, including the one related to the attempt to overthrow the democratic regime in January 2021, the judicial authority is dealing with a case starring a porn star. It is expected to be the only one to go to trial before November’s US presidential election, with her hearing lasting up to two months, in which scandalous testimony about the sex scandal will alternate with in-depth details of business documents.

Daniels’ financing

The charges of falsifying business records related to the financing of Daniels, who had threatened to reveal her sexual relationship with Trump in 2006, are described by prosecutors as “a scheme to cover up a potential sex scandal” before the 2016 presidential election. Daniels was allegedly bribed with $130,000 by the former president’s lawyer Michael Cohenin October 2016, in exchange for her silence.

According to prosecutors, Trump reimbursed Cohen in installments, through the Trump Organization, as part of a fraudulent pre-arranged advance. In addition to the payments to Daniels, the former president is accused of bribing the Playboy model to keep her quiet during the 2016 election campaign. Karen McDougal. The court documents also include the bribery of a former Trump Tower doorman who claimed Trump had an extramarital affair. The above agreements suggest, notes the New York Times, that Daniels’ financing “was not an isolated incident, but rather part of a broader strategy to influence (Trump’s) 2016 election.”

Falsification of records

In New York State, falsifying business records is a felony, not a misdemeanor, only if prosecutors can prove the records were falsified to conceal another crime. There are three possible additional “cover-up” crimes in the Trump case, according to the Manhattan district attorney Alvin L. Bragg, who is leading the investigation: a federal campaign finance violation, a state election law crime and tax fraud. Daniels and McDougal’s bribes, prosecutors say, constituted “illegal donations” to the Trump campaign. Possible tax fraud is the way Cohen was compensated for brokering the Daniels payment — by falsifying records related to his compensation while Trump was now president.

The former president denies having a relationship with Daniels and that her payment was related to the campaign and accuses District Attorney Bragg of being a “racist” and conducting a “witch hunt” against him. Trump’s legal team last week sought to have the judge in the case removed, citing a “conflict of interest” because his daughter was employed by a consulting firm that organized his campaign. Joe Biden in 2020. The judge refused to recuse himself. Each charge carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. The former president, if found guilty, could be sent to prison. But he could get a suspended sentence.

Can Trump run if convicted? “The answer is yes,” say the experts. According to the Constitution, “there are no character or criminal record restrictions” on running for president. While state laws prohibit convicted felons from running for state and local office, this is not the case at the federal level. “Whether Trump is tried, convicted, acquitted or not is a separate question from whether he is disqualified (from the presidential race),” the New York Times clarifies. Richard L. Hansena specialist in Election Law at the University of California.

The political ramifications of any Trump conviction

“Donald Trump’s legal adventures are awaited with great interest because of the political ramifications they may have. Of particular interest is the outcome of tomorrow’s trial unrelated to Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election, as a respectable percentage of Republican voters, about 30%, say that if Trump is convicted in one of the trials, she is not going to vote for him for president” Dimitris Tsarouhas from the Woodrow Wilson Center and a professor in the Department of Political Sciences at the Polytechnic Institute and State University of Virginia (Virginia Tech) points out to “Vima”. He believes that “Trump’s line will probably be to have a conviction that is not final and that it is for a misdemeanor and not a felony in order to continue the narrative of the conspiracy of liberal judges and politicians against him in order not to be re-elected.”

“If we were living in serious times, the fact that a former president and re-candidate is being brought to a criminal trial would automatically mean his disappearance from the face of the earth” comments the general director of ELIAMEP and professor at the School of Law of EKPA Maria Gavouneli in “Vima” . He expresses concern that “with the paranoia prevailing in the US, the trial starting tomorrow is not unlikely to give Trump points because he will appear as a stalker”.

“There is a good chance that Trump, with his very good legal staff, will delay the trial. However, the judge will hesitate to convict a former president, and even just before the elections” predicts Yiannis Papageorgiou, chairman of the Political Science Department of Aristotle University and author of the book “The US Political System – Constitutional Institutions and Contemporary Political Reality » (published by Kritiki). That the US Constitution “does not prohibit a defendant or convict from running for and being elected president will create a big issue.” The second big issue that will arise if Trump is elected “is the president’s right to pardon himself. This is also something that has never been done before. It had been discussed under Nixon that he would pardon himself, and his law office had ruled it out.”

Political Science professor Dimitris Sotiropoulos, a former researcher at LSE, Oxford, Harvard and Princeton universities, identifies an “issue” as to “the emphasis” that has been placed on Trump’s various court cases. “For someone who is concerned about democracy in the US, the most important thing is to clarify the accusations of inciting Trump supporters to storm the Capitol on January 6, 2021,” he emphasizes.

“Trump paid Daniels not to reveal their sexual relationship before the election. Therefore, the question of whether there should have been this trial, compared to other more serious ones, is debatable” says Michael Galinsky, creator of the documentary about George W. Bush “Horns and Halos” (“Horns and Halos”, 2002) in “Vima” ).