NewsUSAA 'surreal' day for Trump in court may further tear the country apart

A ‘surreal’ day for Trump in court may further tear the country apart

(CNN) — There were two big things to fear this Tuesday before the momentous first criminal appearance of a former president of the United States.

The first was that while Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case might cite strong evidence of alleged wrongdoing by Donald Trump, his legal theory might be too vague, complex, and seem too far back in an election seven years ago. enough to be easy to sell to the public.

The other was that Trump would respond with such fury and incitement that he would drive even deeper wedges in a nation estranged by his aberrational presidency and fan a new upheaval that could further damage vital political and judicial institutions.

Both scenarios came true on a day that Trump described as “SURREAL” in a social media message sent as he headed to court to turn himself in. The result is another bleak and even tragic chapter ahead for a country still far from over the aftermath of Trump’s lone term as it prepares for another bitter election.

One of the most portentous days in American judicial history began with the former president leaving his high-rise home in the city where he found fame as a property shark and tabloid celebrity but was now preparing to place him under arrest.

Trump walked slowly through the courthouse door and was led in to be fingerprinted. Media photos of the once most powerful man in the world – looking furious, sitting at a table with lawyers like any other defendant – reflected his moment of astonishing indignity.

Trump was silent in court, saying little more than “innocent,” and did not speak to reporters after the appearance. But the moment he traded in the spartan courtroom decor for a friendly atmosphere under the crystal chandeliers of his Florida resort, Trump was ready to explode.

“Our country is going to hell,” he declared, in a rambling tirade replete with conspiracy theories that also expanded into a furious tirade against prosecutors in other, potentially more serious investigations than the one in Manhattan.

These were the reactions on Capitol Hill to the arrest and indictment against Trump

His furious reaction to those cases showed he is increasingly concerned about their vulnerability as prosecutors in separate investigations probe his attempt to steal Joe Biden’s 2020 Georgia election victory, his hoarding of classified documents and his behavior before the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. But he also pointed to the fact that, with several investigations seemingly drawing to a close, there is a chance that Trump could face more indictments soon.

Given that the next court date in the Manhattan case is December 4, and the other cases seem to address more serious constitutional issues, it is possible that the events of this Tuesday will be superseded. The day a former president was indicted for a crime will always be remembered, but it could come to be seen as the start of an ominous process for Trump rather than a historic culmination.

Bragg leaves serious questions unanswered

Bragg’s case rests on the simple and vital premise that no one—not even a former president with his sights set on the White House again—should be above the law. But critics of the district attorney worry that another equally opposite principle is at stake: that someone famous, rich and powerful is prosecuted while a less notorious person is left free.

“Defendant Donald J. Trump repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to cover up criminal conduct that concealed harmful information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election,” reads the statement of facts accompanying the indictment.

The charging documents say Trump and his then-attorney, Michael Cohen, worked with American Media Inc. to make payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal, as well as a Trump Tower doorman. . Hush money payments are not illegal. But Bragg, a Democrat, alleges that Trump falsified business records to hide the payments. Normally, such transgressions would be simple misdemeanors. But Bragg suggested that a felony could be charged if the books were tampered with to conceal evidence of criminal conduct related to the 2016 campaign.

Trump’s behavior detailed in court documents and in an earlier case involving Cohen was certainly sordid. But some legal analysts noted that Bragg’s legal roadmap could pave the way for strong pretrial motions by Trump’s lawyers.

Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CNN Tuesday night there was “disappointment” among his fellow law enforcement veterans that Bragg’s indictment and statement of facts had not been more specific about the jump required to charge Trump with a felony.

“Everyone was hoping that we would see more about the direction this prosecution intends to take, what is the legal theory linking that very strong misdemeanor case … with intent to conceal another crime?” McCabe said.

“At the end of the day, if all of our legal friends read this indictment and don’t see a path to felony, it’s hard to imagine convincing a jury to go that far.”

Even so, Bragg insisted that the decision not to prosecute Trump would go against all fundamental principles of American justice.

“We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct,” he told a news conference after Trump appeared in court. He said such cases were not unusual, but “the bread and butter” of his office work.

“At bottom, this case today is one with allegations like so many of our white-collar cases. Accusations that someone lied over and over again to protect their interests and circumvent laws to which we are all accountable,” Bragg said.

The apparent complexity of the legal case will be settled in court. But it will also have major political repercussions, given Trump’s status as a former president seeking to retake the White House in 2024.

If it’s hard even for lawyers to follow the reasoning in Bragg’s case, it will be harder for everyone else to do so. Many may question whether falsifying business records to cover up an alleged affair from years before the 2016 election, which now seems so far away, really justifies the politically radioactive step of impeaching a former president for the first time in US history. (Trump denied the affair.)

The feeling that the indictment against Bragg could bounce off the district attorney and benefit Trump politically was picked up by some Republicans who do not support the former president — such as former Trump national security adviser John Bolton in an appearance on CNN. Another Trump critic, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, also disputed the case.

“I think President Trump’s character and conduct make him unfit for office. Still, I think the New York prosecutor has stretched himself to serious criminal charges to fit a political agenda,” Romney said.

Trump lashes out at Bragg and the judge

Trump says case against him is for interfering with 2024 election 7:19

Like any American in his position, Trump should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Unlike many other defendants, he may have all the legal resources available to him and try to mount an attempt to have the case dismissed before it reaches a potential trial.

But it won’t wait.

After receiving a hero’s welcome at his Mar-a-Lago home, he went on a falsehood-laden spiel about the investigations against him, the Biden presidency and his tenure. He renewed false claims that the 2020 election had been stolen from him, calling the investigation by Bragg and others an attempt to rig another election.

“They can’t beat us at the polls, so they try to beat us through the law,” he said in a speech in which he also claimed that the judge in the Manhattan case and his wife “hate Trump.” The former president’s logic was often difficult to follow and he would yell certain words for emphasis in a way that expressed his fury. But as he rambled, Trump opened another window into one of the more sinister aspects of the invective reminiscent of his “American carnage” inaugural speech.

By trying to destroy trust in institutions that try to limit his behavior and by claiming that he is the victim of political persecution, he is following the playbook of some of the world’s most notorious demagogues. Trump’s talent for this kind of propaganda is evident in the way he has convinced millions of his supporters that the last election was corrupt.

Some political pundits predicted that Trump’s impeachment could help him politically, at least in the short term. His campaign says fundraising has been on the rise since the grand jury voted against him last week. And Trump’s opponents and his potential rivals for the GOP nomination had no choice but to line up and criticize Bragg for his actions if they want to avoid antagonizing Trump’s base.

But months away from the Republican Party primaries, it is impossible to know how the events that occurred this Tuesday will unfold. The past suggests that the more extremist Trump becomes, the more popular he becomes with voters in his base.

But the past also holds less favorable political lessons for the former president. The extremism he displayed before a prime-time television audience Tuesday night was exactly the kind of radicalism that contributed to disappointing Republican results in the 2020 and 2022 midterm elections.

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