A Manhattan grand jury voted yesterday to indict Donald Trump. The case relates to his involvement in paying hush money to a porn star to bury a sex scandal in the final days of his 2016 presidential campaign.
There is still a lot we don’t know, including the exact charges. The indictment is under seal and will likely be released in the coming days. Trump has not yet been arrested, a delay that is common in white-collar criminal cases. He is expected to turn himself in on Tuesday and will probably travel to New York from his home in Florida. (Here’s more on what to expect when Trump is taken into custody.)
Regardless, a conviction in this case would not legally prevent Trump from continuing to run for president. An impeachment conviction could have barred Trump from future federal office, but the Senate acquitted him in both of his trials there.
Trump continued to paint the case as partisan and biased last night. “This is political persecution and election interference at the highest level in history,” he said in a statement. He has long feared the possibility of being arrested, according to my colleague Maggie Haberman.
Today’s newsletter will explain the allegations against Trump, why some legal analysts applaud the charges but also why even some of his critics worry about the potential consequences of an indictment.
What’s in the case?
Even though the indictment is still under seal and the specific charges remain unknown, reporters have learned the broad strokes of the investigation.
One possibility is that the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin Bragg, is combining state laws to accuse Trump of falsifying business records. The prosecution would focus on Trump’s reimbursements to his lawyer at the time, Michael Cohen, for the $130,000 payment to the porn star, Stormy Daniels.
A charge of falsifying business records is common in white-collar cases. The unusual part of the charge would be how it’s elevated to a felony from a misdemeanor. In New York, falsifying records can rise to a felony if the fraud helped commit or conceal another intended crime.
In this case, Bragg could argue that Trump falsified records to cover up the hush money in the final weeks of the 2016 race, potentially making it an illegal campaign contribution. Supporters of Trump’s prosecution argue that a successful conviction would show that no one, not even a president, is above the law. “If the rule of law is to be applied equally — & it must — it must apply to the powerful as it does to everyone else,” tweeted Representative Adam Schiff, a California Democrat.
Prosecutors try creative tactics all the time, and sometimes they work. But some experts worry that a case involving a former president is not the time for creative tactics. “Is this really the case where you want to be stepping out on a limb legally or factually in your charges, given the weight of this politically, socially, culturally and for democracy?” said Rebecca Roiphe, a professor at New York Law School and a former prosecutor.
Is there precedent?
Presidents have gotten in legal trouble before. Many historians believe Richard Nixon would have been charged over the Watergate scandal had his successor, Gerald Ford, not pardoned him. And Bill Clinton, in a deal to avoid prosecution after he left office, admitted to lying under oath about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, paid a fine and agreed to give up his law license.
Trump also faces other investigations — into his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents.
There is also one less serious example of a president being arrested: A Washington, D.C., police officer arrested Ulysses S. Grant in 1872 for speeding in his horse and buggy before letting him go.
Will it stick?
Creative legal tactics are inherently risky. Courts typically draw on past cases to decide current ones. But Trump’s case is the first of its kind, both in terms of charging a former president and potentially attempting a new legal strategy.
It also has weaknesses. In 2012, federal prosecutors dropped charges against John Edwards, a former Democratic presidential candidate, after jurors voted to acquit him of one charge and deadlocked on others. In that case, prosecutors argued Edwards violated federal campaign finance laws to pay for a scheme to cover up an affair. The jury evidently did not believe there was enough evidence to tie Edwards to the scheme.
In Trump’s case, some conditions do favor the prosecution. It will come before a judge and jury in a very Democratic city. And the judge who is expected to preside over the case, Juan Merchan, previously oversaw the conviction of Trump’s family business.
2 thoughts on “A former American president has been indicted.”
Ittu Aba Farda
We should remember that this is just a grand jury indictment. The history of grand jury success at the trials is mixed. I think this indictment will galvanize the millions of Trump’s supporters. Their size is not something to scoff at. There were 74 millions of them with 232 electoral votes at the last election. Many of his supporters see him as someone who can save them from ‘extinction’ and some in such group can turn violent. So dear countrymen/women, keep yourself abreast with the latest development. Don’t panic but stay alert and apprehensive. This incidence could end up being a constitutional crisis just like the last one during 1972-74. Some lawmakers have already started talking about the need to amend the constitution to protect current and former president from indictment even though they have committed a crime. In any case this indictment may end up making Trump the leading and strongest candidate for the next 2024 election on the Republican ticket. Democrats will have a humongous work cut out for them. The Republicans should ‘thank’ District Attorney Alvin instead of maligning him.
I call upon my dear countrymen/women who live in and around New York City to avoid the area where the court that will arraign the former president is located on Tuesday. It is a highly charged up environment now some extremists may try to harm innocent people. Don’t panic but be apprehensive. May God continue blessing America!!!
We should remember that this is just a grand jury indictment. The history of grand jury success at the trials is mixed. I think this indictment will galvanize the millions of Trump’s supporters. Their size is not something to scoff at. There were 74 millions of them with 232 electoral votes at the last election. Many of his supporters see him as someone who can save them from ‘extinction’ and some in such group can turn violent. So dear countrymen/women, keep yourself abreast with the latest development. Don’t panic but stay alert and apprehensive. This incidence could end up being a constitutional crisis just like the last one during 1972-74. Some lawmakers have already started talking about the need to amend the constitution to protect current and former president from indictment even though they have committed a crime. In any case this indictment may end up making Trump the leading and strongest candidate for the next 2024 election on the Republican ticket. Democrats will have a humongous work cut out for them. The Republicans should ‘thank’ District Attorney Alvin instead of maligning him.
I call upon my dear countrymen/women who live in and around New York City to avoid the area where the court that will arraign the former president is located on Tuesday. It is a highly charged up environment now some extremists may try to harm innocent people. Don’t panic but be apprehensive. May God continue blessing America!!!