I agree with the opinion of Alvin Bragg that Donald Trump should be prosecuted
Donald Trump, SURREAL, and the Investigations of His Failure to Accompanied: The Last Days of Trump’s Legal Adventures
The first was that while Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case might cite solid evidence of alleged wrongdoing by Donald Trump, his legal theory might prove too vague, complex and seem like too much of a throwback to a 7-year-old election to be an easy sell to the public.
It was believed that Trump would respond with fury and inflexibility that could cause even more trouble in a nation that has been estranged by his presidency.
Both of those worst-of-all-worlds scenarios came true on a day that Trump described as “SURREAL” in a social media post sent as he motorcaded to court to turn himself in. The result is that another grim and even tragic chapter may lie ahead for a country that is still far from working through the fallout from Trump’s single term as it girds for yet another bitter election.
One of the most portentous days in American legal history began with the ex-president leaving his skyscraper home in the city where he found fame as a real estate shark and tabloid-filling celebrity but that was now set to place him under arrest.
Trump walked slowly through the door of the courthouse and was waiting to be fingerprints. News photographs of the man with a face like thunder, seated at a table with lawyers like any other defendants, reflected his moment of stunning indignity.
Trump kept quiet in court, only saying that he was not guilty and not speaking to reporters. But by the time he swapped the spartan decor of the courtroom for friendly turf, under the crystal chandeliers in his gold-leafed resort in Florida, Trump was ready to erupt.
He was angry with prosecutors in other, potentially more serious investigation than the one in New York, in a rant that ended with him declaring, “Our country’s gone to Hell.”
To those who say the hush money charges are a poor substitute for addressing Trump’s attempted coup or alleged financial wrongdoing, we note that the investigations of all that are hardly over. Charges are possible for the 2020 misconduct in Georgia and perhaps by special counsel Jack Smith federally.
There are other cases that might address grave constitutional questions, and it is possible that the events of Tuesday could be overtaken by December 4. The day a former president was charged with a crime will always be remembered, but it might come to be seen as the start of an ominous process for Trump more than a historic culmination.
No matter what happens, we should appreciate the karmic justice of these charges. It’s obvious from the Falsifying Business Records to cover up the porn star payments that we know about the sleaziness we were warned about before Trump was elected. In the indictment’s focus on Trump’s financial malfeasance and his flagrant misogyny, the charges recall two pivotal events that took place before his election: his failure to disclose his tax returns and the contemptuous behavior revealed in the “Access Hollywood” tape.
The charging documents say that Trump and his then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, worked with American Media Inc. to make payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal as well to a doorman at Trump Tower. Hush money payouts are not illegal. But Bragg, a Democrat, alleges that Trump falsified business records to hide the payments. Such transgressions wouldn’t be categorized as a big deal. It is possible for a felony to be charged if the books were cooked to hide criminal conduct related to the 2016 campaign.
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CNN Tuesday evening that there was “disappointment” among his fellow veteran law enforcement officers that the Bragg indictment and statement of facts had not been more specific on the leap required to charge Trump with a felony.
The people were hoping that we would see more about how they intend to prosecute this case and how the legal theory ties that case to the intent to conceal another crime. McCabe said.
It’s hard to think of a jury that would want to convict someone of a felony if they didn’t see a way to do it.
“We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct,” he said at a news conference after Trump appeared in court. He said such cases were not unusual, but “the bread and butter” of his office’s work.
The apparent complexity of the legal case will play out in court. It will have political ramifications due to Trump being a former president who wishes to return to the White House in four years.
The sense that the Bragg indictment could rebound against the district attorney and benefit Trump politically was captured by some Republicans who do not support the former president – like former Trump national security adviser John Bolton in an appearance on CNN. Another Trump critic, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, also criticized the case.
I believe that President Trump is not qualified for office because of his character. Romney thinks the prosecutor in New York has stretched to charge people with felonies in order to fit their political agenda.
Like every American, Trump should have the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. He has many legal resources at his disposal and can try to get the case dismissed before it reaches a trial.
The Perils of Bragg: How Donald Trump’s Anomalous Ex-President Has Arrived to Solve His Petty Crimes
He unleashed a rant after getting a hero’s welcome at Mar-a-Lago, that was filled with lies about him, Biden’s presidency and his term in office. He renewed the false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him and styled Bragg’s investigation and others as an attempt to fix another election.
Tuesday night was Mr. Trump’s first chance to address the criminal charges against him — his first real opportunity to counterpunch — since the New York indictment came down. He spoke of a lot of his grievances in a half-hour speech back in Mar-a-Lago, surrounded by flags and supporters with campaign signs. He tells it that the world is about to get a nuclear World War III. “It can happen! We are not very far away from it. He suggested that the investigation into his squirreling away sensitive documents might lead to his being executed.
By seeking to destroy trust in institutions that seek to constrain his behavior, and claiming he is the victim of political persecution, he is following the playbook of some of the world’s most notorious demagogues. The way that Trump convinced his supporters that the last election was corrupt is a sign of his talent for such propaganda.
Some political pundits have predicted that Trump’s indictment could help him politically, at least in the short term. His campaign has said fundraising dollars have been pouring in since the grand jury voted to indict him last week. And Trump’s opponents and potential rivals for the GOP nomination have had little choice but to line up and criticize Bragg over his actions if they want to avoid alienating Trump’s base.
But months ahead of the GOP primary, it’s impossible to know how Tuesday’s events will play out. The more extreme the Trump gets the more popular he becomes with base voters.
But the past also has less favorable political lessons for the ex-president. The brand of Radicalism that he displayed on Tuesday night was a factor in the disappointing finish of the Republican Party in the 2020 election and in the two upcoming mid-term elections.
This uncomfortable reality is actually something for every member of the G.O.P. to think about. Again. A central theme of Mr. Trump’s third presidential run will be the idea of eliminating everyone else in the party, including candidates like those who are considering a 2024 run themselves.
Get ready for more of this magic. As Mr. Trump’s legal troubles heat up, with possibly more indictments to come, these investigations are going to eat at him and distract him. A hefty chunk of his campaign is likely to be an extended whine about his ongoing martyrdom, constantly putting other Republicans in the awkward position of having to defend him. And they won’t really have any choice as he whips his devoted followers into a frenzy over his persecution — and, of course, by extension, theirs.
That is certainly what we have seen happening. Republicans lined up to trash the Manhattan district attorney. The indictment of Mr. Trump was compared to those actions of Mussolini and Hitler by Lauren Boebert. But one might have expected slightly more from Gov. Ron DeSantis, widely regarded as the biggest threat to Mr. Trump’s 2024 ambitions, than his pathetic vow to refuse to assist any effort to extradite Mr. Trump to New York. Weak, Ron. Very weak.
Editor’s Note: Norman Eisen is a CNN legal analyst who was former President Barack Obama’s ethics czar and impeachment counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in 2019-2020. John W. Dean is a CNN contributor and former White House counsel to Richard Nixon. The views expressed in this commentary are their own. CNN has more opinion.
Despite the salacious details, this is an important case for democracy. The election was close. In the aftermath of the Access Hollywood tape of Trump proclaiming that he was free to sexually assault women, another potentially scandalous revelation could have changed the outcome of the contest and American history.
The alleged election misconduct also seems like it might have been a gateway drug for Trump’s even more extensive attempted electoral tampering with respect to the 2020 contest.
Nevertheless, the indictment has been greeted by decidedly mixed reactions – including from some who are usually critical of the former president. They have argued that the hush money case appears too political, it’s too thorny legally and should have been brought by federal authorities – or not at all.
That’s nonsense. Michael Cohen went to prison for swindling the campaign funds in order to benefit Trump, so there’s no reason to exempt him from prosecution.
In 2008, a felony charge of campaign finance was brought against JohnEdwards for his alleged mistress payments, but this theory failed in a similar criminal prosecution.
In fact, making various types of concealed payments to benefit a campaign is commonly prosecuted – ergo Cohen’s plea. There was nothing legally wrong with the prosecution theory in the Edwards case or the judge would not have allowed it to go to the jury. The jury found that the proof wasn’t enough to support the case.
In this one, Bragg has the benefit of an inside cooperator in the form of Cohen, whose account is corroborated by substantial reported documentary, testimonial evidence and even a tape of a conversation with Trump.
The Time to Stop Hunting for Political Persequences and Election Interference, and the Response of the New York Attorney General Letitia James
The time has passed for charges to be brought about six years after payments were made. We think that it takes time to charge a president or former one. The years were lost when the charges could not be brought on federal soil under Justice Department guidance because of the sitting president.
It’s hard to fault Bragg for lost time when his predecessor, Cy Vance, stated this weekend that federal prosecutors had told him and his team to “stand down” during the Trump administration because their own investigation was underway.
Significantly, if others have minimized these hush money charges, Trump has not. He has treated them with a level of alarm and dangerous rhetoric we have not seen from him since the runup to Jan. 6.
On Truth Social, Trump has called for his supporters to protest. among other reckless declarations. He greeted news of the charges by stating, “This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history.”
The charges are no such thing, but Trump’s strong reaction shows he understands their seriousness. Bragg did the right thing when he said he would not be deterred by such intimidation – just as he was right to bring this case.
Trump said, of the case being led by Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis, that she is “doing everything in her power to indict me over an absolutely perfect phone call, even more perfect than the one I made with the president of Ukraine.”
On the Justice Department investigation, overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith, Trump said: “This lunatic special prosecutor named Jack Smith – I wonder what it was prior to a change – who others of his ilk say, he’s even worse than they are, is only looking at Trump.”
Finally, Trump went on to condemn New York Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation into the Trump Organization saying she, “campaigned on ‘I will get Trump.’ I’m sure I’ll get him. This was her campaign. I never ran for office. I will get him. Her name is Letitia James,” he said.
Toward the end of his speech, Trump returned to criticize the Manhattan district attorney and the charges leveled against him.
Moral flaws and triumphant victory of Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election: a step back, then, to the realization that Donald Trump wasn’t a businessman
Both told us everything we could have expected from a Trump presidency. They should’ve stopped Trump from becoming president. The fact that nearly half of American voters were willing to ignore Trump’s moral flaws in his service of politics shows how divided the country is. But neither side can claim it didn’t know exactly the kind of person who was elected in the first place.
Let’s step back, then, to Trump’s emergence as a presidential candidate in the 2016 election. people following his antics assumed that nobody would take serious the notion of a corrupt businessman, third-tier reality TV showman and object of tabloid ridicule as president.
