On Thursday night, March 30th, a jury in New York voted to indict former President Donald Trump. He is allegedly being charged with falsifying business records. This case stems from 2016 when the President made a payment to silence an adult star named Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had an affair with Trump in 2006. However, Trump has always denied this. During the 2016 presidential race, Daniels tried to sell her account of the scandal to the media, which could have hurt his campaign. But Trump had his lawyer, Michael Cohen, pay her $130,000 in "hush" money. This action of "hush" money isn't illegal, but it is the way the Trump corporation covered it up that was. Cohen needed to get his $130,000 reimbursed, so Trump paid him through his business and falsified the payment by saying it was for legal fees.
CBS reports that: "Trump is being charged with falsifying business records in the first degree, a felony in New York State." But again, none of the charges are confirmed, as the indictment is sealed by New York's grand jury. It is just speculation, but Trump is expected to be in court on Tuesday, April 2nd, where the charges will be made clear to everyone. However, if charged with a felony, Trump could face up to four years in prison. This could have a serious impact on his chances of serving a second term as President in the future
Trump has been very vocal about the charges issued against him. He claims that he has done nothing wrong and believes he will not experience a fair trial in New York. He has voiced his opinion on the social media platform Truth Social: "They only brought this fake, corrupt, and disgraceful charge against me because I stand with the American people, and they know that I cannot get a fair trial in New York!" He believes that Democrats are using the justice system to target him and interfere with the 2024 presidential election. With the election coming soon, there is a lot riding on this case. It could completely change the election if Trump is found guilty. However, cases like this are usually slow, and it's more likely that the outcome of this case will come after the 2024 election.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-faces-felony-charge-source-says/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65136636
https://www.npr.org/2023/03/31/1167447880/trump-indictment-next-steps
6 comments:
Trump have been involved many court cases as well as being accused of involved in scandals. Even three of his children were accused of "astounding fraud" and deception. Trump's reputation in many Democrats' eyes remain depraved. And Trump's bid in coming back again in the 2024 election, these negative news of him will only be a minus factor.
Agreeing with what Anna has to say, it should be noted that Trump covers up his mistakes and selfish motives by spreading the ideology that people opposed to him purposely try to mess up his agenda. Although "hush money" itself isn't illegal as stated in the blog, Trump goes on to use illegal methods to pay back his lawyer. When using common sense, his trial is fair and the way he uses his own social media to fire back at the claims made against him only tarnishes his image. I don't think it will change the election completely but it will continue to tear away at his reputation.
I agree with both what Josh and Anna said. I would add that I think it changes nothing about Democrats or Republicans' positions in terms of how it will affect future elections. Most loyal Republicans have continued to support Trump even despite the clear evidence showing his incriminating behavior on many different accounts. This is just another case that for Republicans will be dismissed as the Democrats trying to take Trump out of the election, and for the Democrats it is another example of how Trump is a terrible person to be in charge of a nation in addition to his conservative politic stances. This case if Trump ends up in jail would have a huge effect mainly on showing politicians in general that nobody is above the law. I think that is something that needs to be enforced, so that people will trust politicians more, and so that bad politicians can be punished.
Focusing on one of the issues less (to an extent) debated in this case, the payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels by Donald Trump's lawyer, Michael Cohen, and the subsequent falsification of business records to cover it up suggests a possible attempt to hide damning evidence. Trump's reputation or political career must have been– and I am speculating the entire comment– seriously jeopardized if said information was to be released. One doesn’t pay so much money to ensure wishy-washy information doesn’t get leaked. While the payment of hush money itself may not be illegal, the alleged attempt to cover it up with falsified business records raises questions about whether Trump and his associates were engaging in illegal activities or attempting to conceal something from the public that somehow was more outlandish than his previous drama. Additionally, the fact that the payment was made during the 2016 presidential campaign suggests that it may have had political motivations.
Ultimately, I feel that whether hush money is a "huge throw-off" in this case or not depends on one's perspective and values. Some may argue that the payment and cover-up are clear evidence of unethical or illegal behavior. In contrast, others may see it as a relatively minor issue that does not warrant criminal charges or other consequences, as seen from a strict legal view. Of course, I have no evidence to back up my claim past “I’ve got a suspicion,” but this cannot make him look innocent.
I agree with Maddie's comment saying that this could demonstrate that nobody, including politicians, is above the law. There are many Americans that do not really care for politicians' conduct, as evidenced by Trump continuing to have strong support well after the Jan 6 situation, but it's hopeful that this indictment, and possible jailing, could start to chip away at that unwavering support. It's important that our leaders maintain good conduct and represent themselves in a good way, as that sets the tone for our political system and allows it to properly play out to the benefit of Americans. When we're so focused on the poor conduct of one politician (not saying that this is a bad thing, politicians simply shouldn't put themselves in these situations), polarization is increased and change stalls.
I agree with what everyone has said. There has been currently a lot of talk and speculation about former President Donald Trump being charged with fabricating company documents. The main focus that I inferred from this case is the amount of money given to Stormy Daniels in order to prevent her from disclosing an alleged relationship with Trump. While the act of paying "hush" money itself is not illegal, it is the way the Trump corporation has covered this up that is allegedly the basis for the charge. From what we know Trump will most likely be in prison for four years in prison if he is found guilty of a felony, which will have a major impact on his future political goals.
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