D21 On The Indictment Of Former President Donald Trump By Manhattan DA
As reported last night, a Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former President Donald Trump, making him the first former President to be indicted for criminal activity. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and his grand jury have reportedly been investigating criminal violations that allegedly occurred when then-candidate Trump and his team concealed hush money payments to Stormy Daniels in the closing days of the 2016 presidential election.
According to media reports, Trump faces more than 30 counts related to falsifying business records related to the hush money payments.
Falsifying business records is a criminal act that is regularly prosecuted under New York law.
The indictment currently remains under seal so the exact charges will not be known until the indictment is made public. The former President is expected to be arraigned in Manhattan next week.
This is both a historic and somber moment for our nation. It is also the first of what potentially could become four criminal indictments of former President Trump.
The other potential indictments that could take place are by the Fulton County, Georgia DA for Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in Georgia; by the Justice Department for Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election and for his role in inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol; and by the Justice Department for Trump’s improper taking of classified and top-secret documents to Mar-a-Lago and engaging in possible obstruction in refusing to return the documents for months.
The indictment comes in the face of Trump’s attacking Bragg and threatening “death and destruction” if he is indicted. Trump’s dangerous threats are reminiscent of his actions that eventually ignited the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. His incitement played a pivotal role in the extraordinary violence that occurred that day.
Trump’s efforts in response to the indictment must not be allowed to lead to a new wave of violence.
Meanwhile, Trump’s MAGA Republican followers in the House already have attempted to obstruct the proper working of the Manhattan DA.
House Republican Committee Chairs Jim Jordan, James Comer, and Bryan Steil have demanded that Bragg turn over materials relating to the ongoing case and appear before the House to answer questions.
Members of Congress, however, have no jurisdiction over state or local law enforcement matters and Bragg informed the three Committee Chairs that he would not allow them to interfere with the criminal prosecution of Trump or testify before them about the case.
The request from the three Republicans was nothing more than a partisan attempt to interfere with the criminal case in Manhattan. Similar efforts can be expected if Trump is indicted in the other criminal investigations currently underway.
And House Republicans can expect to receive the same the same rejections from prosecutors in those cases that they received from Bragg.
This indictment is a strong reminder of our nation’s founding principle that no one – not even a former President – is above the law. Founding Father Samuel Adams described the sanctity of the rule of law clearly in 1772, echoing John Locke: “There shall be one rule of Justice for the rich and the poor; for the favorite in Court, and the Countryman at the Plough.”
In our justice system, any person accused of a crime, including a former President, is entitled to all the protections of our legal system – the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, the right to an attorney, the right to confront one’s accusers, and the right to a trial by a jury of one’s peers.
Donald Trump, like anyone accused of a crime, will have those rights and protections.
The Manhattan grand jury’s indictment is neither partisan nor insignificant. Our justice system requires that all citizens live under the same law. Trump, House MAGA Republicans, and other Trump supporters must not be allowed to interfere with the prosecution of the case with improper demands, intimidation, and efforts to minimize the seriousness of the case.
