$130,000 for an actress before the 2016 presidential campaign
Trump: “Political oppression, headwind to Biden”
You can run for the next presidential election… U.S. extreme division
A grand jury in Manhattan, New York, USA, decided to indict former US President Donald Trump on the 30th of last month (local time). It is the first decision since the founding of the nation in 1776 that a current or former U.S. president has been prosecuted. Former President Richard Nixon, who wiretapped Watergate, and former President Bill Clinton, who had an adulterous affair, also avoided, and became the “first criminally prosecuted president.” Former President Trump, who re-run for the 2024 presidential election, protested after his prosecution decision, saying, “It is the worst political oppression and witch hunt,” and that “a headwind will blow against Joe Biden (President).”
A Manhattan grand jury found that former President Trump, who had sex with adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2006, paid Daniels $130,000 (approximately 170 million won) to Daniels just before the 2016 presidential election. Suggested allegations of manipulating documents to mobilize the group’s funds. Since the indictment has not been made public, the official charges are expected to be revealed at the time of prosecution. Former President Trump denies all charges.
Even if he is convicted, he can still run for president in 2024. However, he is facing a number of separate judicial risks, including charges of manipulating supporters’ intrusion into the parliament. At the same time, due to the backlog of various lawsuits, it is difficult for Trump’s opponents to come out with a ruling as quickly as they want, and Trump’s supporters are also likely to rally, so it is difficult to guarantee who will benefit from the prosecution’s decision.
Trump is the first U.S. president to be indicted
At the earliest, they will appear on the 4th and take a mug shot
NYT “Prosecution when the successor is like a developing country”
Strengthening the personal protection of police officers who prosecuted prosecutors
“The situation in the United States is similar to that of the 1850s, just before the Civil War. The conditions for the outbreak of civil war have been met.”
“It can look like ‘winner’s justice’ in the developing world, where former presidents are imprisoned by their successors.”
These are the evaluations of the US news media Time and the New York Times (NYT), respectively, regarding the decision to prosecute former president Donald Trump, who had never existed since the founding of the United States in 1776 and the inauguration of the first president George Washington in 1789. Unlike Korea, where the president’s privilege of immunity is stipulated in the constitution, there is no clear regulation in the United States. However, in order to avoid the vicious cycle of political retaliation, he has refrained from indicting former presidents of different party affiliations, but this tradition has been broken.
Former President Trump and the opposition Republican Party claim that Chief Prosecutor Alvin Bragg (50), the first black Manhattan District Attorney who led the prosecution decision, is conducting a political rhetoric because he is a ruling Democrat. The Democratic Party opposes it with a “legitimate investigation.”
In addition to this case, the legal battle surrounding former President Trump, who has been exposed to various judicial risks such as incitement of supporters to invade Congress and tax evasion by family companies, will prolong, leading to an extreme confrontation between the two parties until the presidential election in November next year. We cannot rule out the possibility.
The roots of the prosecution’s decision go back to former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Russia scandal, which alleged that Russia interfered in the 2016 US presidential election and helped former President Trump win.
At the time of the presidential election seven years ago, the US media reported that former President Trump paid 130,000 dollars (approximately 170 million won) for the purpose of silence in October 2016, right before the presidential election, to stormy Daniels (44), an adult film actor with whom he had sex in 2006 for fear of adverse influence on the presidential election. ) was reported. The person who handed over the money at the time was Michael Cohen, a “fixer” who served as former President Trump’s personal lawyer from 2006 to 2018 and took charge of various back-and-forth.
Special Prosecutor Mueller, who was appointed in May 2017, presented Cohen with a “plea bargain (combat sentence after plea of guilty)” to prove various charges against former President Trump. In the process, Cohen also testified, “I gave money to Daniels at Trump’s direction.”
Apart from the special prosecutor, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, where Trump’s business is located, noted in January 2017 that the Trump Group decided to reimburse Cohen for this $130,000. This is why it is not possible to rule out the possibility that Trump manipulated documents while spending company money on his personal business, and that other crimes, such as violations of election laws, were committed in the process.
Prosecutor Bragg, who was elected to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in November 2021, significantly accelerated the investigation. He formed a grand jury this January where ordinary citizens would decide whether to prosecute a particular person. Two months after that, it led to an unprecedented decision to indict a former president. Prosecutor Bragg, like former President Trump, is a New York native and graduated from Harvard Law School. In his autobiography, he described himself as the son of a slum in Manhattan, Harlem. After the decision to indict, New York police increased personal protection for Prosecutor Bragg.
Former President Trump had the disgrace of being the first former president to be prosecuted after leaving office following the passage of the House of Representatives’ impeachment resolution twice during his tenure. In his statement, he called the charges “corrupt and fabricated” and “cannot be given a fair trial.”
He denies both sexual intercourse and allegations that he ordered Cohen to hand over money. The NYT reported that he would voluntarily appear in court on the 4th. At this time, there is a possibility that he will take a ‘mug shot’ of his face to identify the culprit. However, given the former president’s status, there are observations that the possibility of standing in the photo line wearing handcuffs is not high.
There is also an analysis that document fabrication is a state law and election law violation is a federal law, so the decision to indict the two is inappropriate, and the credibility of Cohen’s testimony, which has already been convicted and served time, is also low. Accordingly, some are discussing the possibility of dismissing the prosecution.
America split over ‘Trump prosecution’ On the 30th of last month (local time), in front of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York, USA, opponents of former President Donald Trump put up a large banner saying “Now is the time” in favor of the Manhattan grand jury’s decision to indict him (upper photo). On the same day, supporters of former President Trump protested with flags reading “Trump won, save America” near Mar-a-Lago Resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where he resides after leaving office. Manhattan and Palm Beach = AP NewsisKey Republican figures, including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, criticized the judicial system for being used as a tool for private revenge. After the resignation of former President Trump, supporters held protests against him at Mar-a-Lago Resort in Florida, where he resided. According to Time, some shouted, “Impeach President Biden.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of the Democratic Party countered that the decision to prosecute was justified, saying, “The former president is subject to the same laws as all Americans.” The White House did not comment.
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Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.