Defendant Donald Trump: ‘In the short term, it is a clear political advantage for him’

It is a first in the history of the United States: a former president under investigation by Justice. And at the risk of being arrested. Donald Trump is already in New York, where he is preparing to appear in court in Manhattan. He seems combative, despite this accusation and the many investigations pointing to him.

Friday claimed to have it raised four million dollars in 24 hoursfollowing his indictment, to fund his campaign for the 2024 presidential election.

The Republican tycoon will receive his indictment in the case of the bribes he allegedly paid the former porn actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence, while he was a candidate in the 2016 presidential elections.

Historian Corentin Sellin, specializing in the United States, interprets here how this unprecedented judicial process could affect the political career of the Republican, when he tries to return to the White House in the 2024 elections.

-This accusation, instead of being a problem for Donald Trump, can it serve him politically?

-For now, and in the short term, it is an obvious political advantage for Donald Trump. We’ve seen it since the March 31 impeachment announcement: all Republicans, including those who have positioned themselves as alternatives to Trump, all of his rivals, including the most serious of them, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, have all flown in support of Donald Trump against an accusation presented as a political and not a judicial act, under penalty of appearing as bad Republicans.

Why do you think this is happening?

– They have no other choice, because it is clear that Republican voters are unanimously convinced that Donald Trump is the subject of political persecution.

-Could Trump, along the same lines, extend the trial of this case so that it reaches the middle of the 2024 presidential campaign?

-Obviously it could be a hypothesis, but that’s not where we go, because Donald Trump’s lawyers have clarified their defensive strategy: ask for a motion to cancel the trial as soon as possible, to try to demonstrate that all of Manhattan The proceeding of the Democratic attorney has no legal basis. What they would like to achieve is, in fact, that the Manhattan prosecutor, the Democrat Alvin Bragg, be disavowed by a judge. If that happens, of course, it will make it much harder for other federal or local prosecutors to prosecute Donald Trump.

-The fact is that, in addition to this first case in which he will be indicted, there are still many other ongoing investigations pointing to the former president.

-Yes, indeed, and it is precisely this whole chain of events that will have to be examined. We know that Donald Trump is under investigation, both for his role in the Capitol uprising of January 6, 2021, and for his handling of confidential files, which he kept for more than a year in his private home, in contravention of the country’s laws . And here, of course, we are certain of possible far more serious crimes, also in terms of penalties incurred. One wonders if Manhattan Attorney Alvin Bragg has not broken a historic deadlock, that is, by indicting a former president for the first time. This could ease the burden on other prosecutors investigating Trump, because now they don’t have to worry about being the first to indict a former president—that’s it. And they could move more directly to new allegations.

Could these new allegations come before the 2024 Republican primaries and presidential elections?

-The first Republican primary elections will not be held until February 2024, which is almost a year. Many things can happen. And that’s why you have to be careful with political analysis: yes, in the short term, today, this benefits Donald Trump on his side. But if there were a lot of allegations, wouldn’t some Republican voters prefer another candidate, perhaps just as radical, like DeSantis, but without all these judicial “pans” hanging over a candidate?

Source: RFI