Trump’s Indictments are About Crimes, NOT Politics
Trump’s Indictments are about alleged crimes he committed, not to silence Free Speech, take down a Political Adversary, “Weaponization of the DOJ” or a Witch Hunt. Republicans are LYING by using these claims to protect Trump, attempting to make people believe all of his 91 criminal charges and indictment are political.
Trump is getting preferential treatment
Historian on Trump indictment and holding leaders accountable
Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer, editor of “The Presidency of Donald J. Trump: A First Historical Assessment,” discusses the latest criminal indictment against the former president as a result of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the January 6 insurrection. Zelizer explains that, in bringing Trump to trial, the Department of Justice has boldly declared – regardless of the political fallout – it will hold our leaders accountable if they violate sacrosanct democratic principles.
2020 election interference – Federal case
Former President Trump indicted for attempts to overturn 2020 election
Trump charged with four federal felonies in connection to his high-profile efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
The sweeping indictment unsealed on August 1 recaps a months-long misinformation campaign by Trump, in which the former president pushed fraud claims that prosecutors say he knew to be untrue.
Trump also pressured state and federal officials to intervene in the election certification process, including his Vice President Mike Pence, authorities said.
The pressure campaign, which continued even as pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, amounted to an attempt to obstruct “a bedrock function”, according to the indictment.
Trump is charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the US; one count of conspiracy against rights; one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and one count of obstructing an official proceeding.
The former president pleaded not guilty to the charges during a brief arraignment hearing in federal court in Washington, DC court on August 3.
“When you look at what’s happening, this is a persecution of a political opponent,” Trump said after leaving the courthouse. “This was never supposed to happen in America.”
Classified Documents – Federal Case
In June, Trump was indicted in a separate federal case related to his handling of sensitive documents that he took from the White House at the end of his presidency.
The former president was initially charged with 37 felony counts, the majority of which were for unauthorised retention of national security secrets. He was also charged with obstruction of justice and making false statements to investigators.
The indictment detailed how Trump showed off the classified documents to visitors, storing many in easily accessible areas of his Mar-a-Lago estate. As federal investigators closed in, the charging document said, Trump enlisted aides to help hide the documents.
“Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced,” special counsel Jack Smith, who also oversees the federal election case, said upon unsealing the secret documents indictment.
“Violations of those laws put our country at risk,” Smith said.
On July 27, federal prosecutors announced three more charges against Trump. His aide and a property manager at Mar-a-Lago have also been charged in the case.
Trump pleaded not guilty to the initial charges during his first appearance at a court in Miami, Florida, in June. On August 4, he pleaded not guilty to the additional charges in a court filing. A federal judge has set the trial date for May 20, 2024.
Falsifying business documents – New York state case
Trump’s first criminal indictment came in the US state of New York in March, when he was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in an investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
The counts are linked to a series of checks written to Trump’s lawyer Michael Cohen as reimbursements for hush-money payments made to pornographic movie star Stormy Daniels, who alleged a sexual encounter with Trump in 2006.
The payments were recorded in various internal company documents as being for a legal retainer that prosecutors said did not exist.
On December 4, the former president is set to make his next appearance at a Manhattan court where he had earlier entered a not-guilty plea to the charges.
The date comes two months before the Republican presidential primary season begins in full.
2020 election interference – Georgia state case
After investigating Trump for more than two-and-a-half years, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis levelled 13 charges against the former president and 18 other co-defendants, who prosecutors say conspired to overturn the election results in the state.
Trump and his allies were charged under Georgia’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) law, which is often reserved for prosecuting organised crime.
The probe was initially sparked by a January 2, 2021 phone call between Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a top election official. In the call, Trump, who was trailing in the state’s final vote count, suggested Raffensperger could “find 11,780 votes” to flip the state in his favour.
One of the charges Trump is facing directly relate to that conversation. The indictment says the former president “unlawfully solicited, requested and importuned” Raffensperger to violate his oath of office. The indictment also said Trump and his co-defendants pushed to illegally breach voting equipment.
“In Georgia, members of the enterprise stole data, including ballot images, voting equipment software and personal voter information,” it said.
Trump has denied wrongdoing in the case and is expected to plead not guilty to the charges later in August. [source for the above article; aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/2/trump-indictment-tracker-where-do-cases-against-former-us-president-stand]
Trump Georgia indictment | Everything to know
60 Minutes: Former President Trump’s phone call that led to indictment in Georgia
