The first of Donald Trump’s criminal trials kicked off in earnest this week in New York. Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg has charged Trump with 34 felony counts, alleging that he falsified records to cover up a ‘hush money’ payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.
It’s an unprecedented case. Never before has a former US president, or a leading candidate for an upcoming presidential election, faced criminal charges. There’s a good reason why America hasn’t had such a case before: seeking to jail your political opponent is generally understood to be something only banana republics do.
It’s also an absurd and unjust case, involving novel legal theories and obvious political intent. No one other than Donald Trump would be subject to such charges.
The Manhattan trial is part of the ‘lawfare’ offensive that is currently being waged by President Joe Biden and the Democrats against Trump. It is one of four criminal cases that Trump faces. He also has two federal cases, related to his handling of classified documents and to the ‘January 6’ riots, and one in Georgia, alleging that he subverted the 2020 election. These other cases are delayed, so the Manhattan case may be the only one to be tried before the November presidential election. Democrats have even tried to knock Trump off the ballot in multiple states, an anti-democratic scheme that was stymied by the Supreme Court last month.
The Democrats’ aim is to brand Trump as a convicted felon and put him in jail. They’re hoping that a verdict against Trump will give the Biden campaign a decisive advantage in this year’s elections.
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