Donald Trump indicted for paying hush money. A historical unique and an opportunity for the former president

There was no question of the arrest announced by himself, but one grand jury in New York on Thursday decided that the prosecutor’s office has enough evidence to indict Donald Trump. Various American media reported this on the basis of sources familiar with the grand jury’s decision. The indictment itself had not been made public as of Thursday afternoon. This is expected to happen when Trump reports to the judge for arraignment.

Trump will turn himself in for arraignment in a Manhattan court on Tuesday, one of his lawyers said. The New York Times.

It is the first time that an American (former) president has been formally regarded as a suspect of a crime. That means that for the first time in history, Americans can see a man who once held the highest office, handcuffed or not, being photographed in front of a mug shotshis fingerprints are taken and his rights are read to him.

From that moment on it is uncertain what will happen. Trump himself reported a little less than two weeks ago that his arrest was imminent (he had expected it earlier). Via social media, he called on his supporters not to let this go their way and to “take back the country”. After that call, several dozen demonstrators came to New York, where they almost fell away from the large number of press. Following the reports of the criminal charge, numerous right-wing media outlets and organizations issued condemnations, all with the purport that this is a political trial designed to defuse the political rival of the incumbent president – ​​even if this is a matter for the New York State Attorney’s Office.

Trump is suspected of illegally paying a lump sum payment to Stephanie Clifford, better known as Stormy Daniels: her name as a porn actress. She said she had had a brief sexual affair with the businessman. Fox News reported Thursday that the charge is about paying hush money to two women, in addition to Daniels, also former Playboy model Karen McDougal. To prevent this from becoming known just before the 2016 presidential election, Trump would have ordered his lawyer to buy their silence, one with $130,000, the other with $150,000. The money was allegedly falsely booked as ‘legal costs’, while the lawyer in question himself stated that he used the money to pay the women. Another Trump lawyer confirmed that the money was “pushed through a law firm” to the women.

Avenger

In recent weeks, the question was not so much what the arraignment of Donald Trump would look like, but how he wild that it would look like. The loser of the 2020 presidential election benefits from the publicity surrounding his arraignment. Minutes after the news, his campaign team sent out an email with the headline out The New York Timesthe determination that “we are living in the darkest time of our history” and whether the addressee wants to transfer $24, $47, $75 or $100 to the campaign coffers of Trump, who presents himself as “your Avenger” at recent election rallies.

The corrupt establishment has been fighting me for seven years for this one reason: that I am fighting for you

Ex-President Donald Trump in begging email to followers

The campaign emails from Trump, his sons and his team in recent weeks have been all about the impending prosecution and the money he needs to keep “fighting.” For example, for a long time they were about voter fraud (not a word about that in the latest emails) or about the Russia investigation. The message always ends in a sentence like this, from Wednesday’s mailing, in bold: “The corrupt establishment has been fighting me for seven years for this one reason: that I am fighting for you.” A week ago, Trump’s campaign team announced that they had collected more than $1.5 million from his supporters within a week of the former president’s announcement that he would be arrested.

Search

Trump consistently uses judicial attention as campaign material — and thus as incentive in his perpetual fundraising drives. When he refused to hand over confidential state documents to the National Archives in 2022, he himself announced that the FBI was conducting a search of his home. His mantra (“They’re targeting me because I’m your champion”) has been adopted one-to-one by the Republican Party, which this year created a Congressional Committee on Unfair Judiciary.

The Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, tweeted that New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg is using his position to prosecute “political opponents.” In that same tweet, he pointed out that American-Hungarian billionaire philanthropist George Soros has financially supported Bragg’s election campaign; that too has been adopted from Trump.

The suggestion is that Trump’s prosecution (and he’s currently embroiled in multiple criminal investigations) is part of the one global conspiracy that Republicans love to talk about, the one that has their progressive, multicultural, “woke” opponents out. on the oppression of “patriotic” Americans. Chairpersons of no less than three House committees are demanding internal communications and documents from Bragg about this ongoing investigation.

But the pre-anger over the possible prosecution wasn’t just aimed at Democrats. Trump supporters have also launched an online hunt for Republicans who, in their eyes, react too coldly. This also reflects Trump’s campaign tactics, who, as in 2016, expect a broad field of opponents in the Republican primaries. His message is: I am the any fighter for your interests, all other politicians try to antagonize me, and you. It is a way for Trump to impose his will on his fellow party members (many of whom have said publicly or privately that they want new leadership).

spectacle

Trump’s main target in this is the governor of Florida, and that is no coincidence. This Ron DeSantis has not yet formally declared himself as a Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, but Trump clearly expects him to do so. The former president has unleashed a barrage of attacks on DeSantis in recent weeks, disapproving of one nickname as too rude: “Meatball Ron.” A Trump-affiliated organization has filed a complaint with Florida’s ethics committee, accusing DeSantis of campaigning without officially running for office.

If Trump decides after his eventual arraignment that he generates the most attention and anger among his supporters by not voluntarily reporting to the court later when the case starts, then a spicy combination of circumstances arises. Trump has lived in Mar-a-Lago, Florida since his departure from the White House in 2021. As governor, DeSantis would then have to authorize New York authorities to remove Trump from his home. Spectacular guaranteed.

The right one New York Post summed it up Thursday morning under the pun headline “CuffLove‘, of a large picture of golden handcuffs and a smiling Trump. “He wants to be handcuffed for the court spectacle,” it said.