In an historic event yesterday, former US president Donald Trump appeared in a Manhattan criminal court charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records.
Trump, 76, pleaded not guilty to all charges.
He was the US’ 45th President and is now the first-ever former or sitting president to face criminal charges. He has also announced his intention to run for President again in 2024. After his arraignment, Trump left New York on his private jet for Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, where he was expected to make a statement last night.
The charges were brought by indictment by Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg and Trump surrendered yesterday for the arraignment.
CNN reported the former president kept his voice “measured” and walked slowly into the courtroom. News cameras were not allowed in the courtroom.
In a press conference after the hearing, Bragg told reporters that his office would not normalise “serious criminal conduct.”
“We allege Donald Trump and his associates repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters. These are felony crimes in New York. No matter who you are,” Bragg said.
Dr Indira Rampersad
‘This should serve as a signal to T&T politicians’
Locally, political analyst Dr Indira Rampersad, weighing in on Donald Trump being charged, said the charges against the former president should serve as a signal to all politicians that their actions can come back to haunt them.
In an interview with Guardian Media, Rampersad said the move by Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg does not augur well for politicians.
“There are ways and means of finding information, which can ultimately serve as evidence. And the Caribbean in particular has a high corruption index and in some respects, he’s now being charged for corruption,” Rampersad said.
Asked if she believes T&T is ready for such in-depth investigations into the business dealings of politicians, Rampersad said the public has been calling for this for some time.
“I’m not sure the word is readiness, but it’s the extent to which they (politicians) are willing to comply and to a large extent, they are not. What they do, they often shirk questions from the media, they often shirk responsibility and they continue as if nothing happens.”
But she said there are lessons to be learnt from Trump’s indictment.
“You can get information if you dig deep enough and politicians should be held accountable for their actions,” Rampersad said.
Prof Andy Knight
It cements the norm ‘no one is above the law’
Meanwhile, Professor of International Relations Andy Knight agreed. He said Trump’s arrest “cements the norm” that no one is above the law.
“We tend to look at the US for these types of legal signals. I think that politicians in T&T should be operating under this same legal principle that no one is above the law and that if they are involved in criminal activity, they will be held accountable,” Knight said.
Dr Bishnu Ragoonath
This type of prosecution needs to be replicated in T&T, the Caribbean
Another political analyst, Dr Bishnu Ragoonath said he does not believe T&T has the political willpower to go after corrupt politicians as the US has done.
“The politics in the US is very much different from ours and there is always that notion that because of the way parties operate, that will always be a challenge for people sitting in the Government to be brought before the court, when people are in Opposition even, there are challenges bringing them before the court,” Ragoonath said.
However, he said this type of prosecution needs to be replicated in T&T and the wider Caribbean.
The statement
In the statement of facts published on the DA’s website, Bragg alleges that Trump, along with others, including his former attorney and fixer Michael Cohen, sought to undermine the integrity of the 2016 US Presidential election by engaging in a “catch-and-kill scheme to suppress negative information.”
“From August 2015 to December 2017, the Defendant orchestrated a scheme with others to influence the 2016 presidential election by identifying and purchasing negative information about him to suppress its publication and benefit the Defendant’s electoral prospects. In order to execute the unlawful scheme, the participants violated election laws and made and caused false entries in the business records of various entities in New York. The participants also took steps that mischaracterised, for tax purposes, the true nature of the payments made in furtherance of the scheme,” the statement of facts reads.
During the press conference, Bragg said true and accurate business records were important, especially in Manhattan, which he described as the financial centre of the world.
“As this office has done time and time again, we today uphold our solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law. No amount of money and no amount of power changes that enduring principle,” Bragg said.
The charges stem from a US $130,000 payout to adult film star, Stormy Daniel in 2015, ahead of the election.
Bragg’s case lays out how this payment was carried out and entered into the business magnate’s books.
“Lawyer A made the $130,000 payment through a shell corporation he set up and funded at a bank in Manhattan. This payment was illegal, and Lawyer A has since pleaded guilty to making an illegal campaign contribution and 2 served time in prison. Further, false entries were made in New York business records to effectuate this payment, separate and apart from the New York business records used to conceal the payment,” the indictment states.
The statement of fact also outlines payment to another woman and a doorman from the Trump Centre in New York.
The second woman also alleged to have had a sexual relationship with Trump while he was married. The doorman claimed to have information about a child fathered by Trump, born out of wedlock. Both took their stories to the National Enquirer and were allegedly paid by the publication for exclusive rights to their respective stories, which were both never aired.
In an interview with CNN yesterday, one of Trump’s attorneys, Jim Trusty said Bragg was not a reasonable prosecutor.
“The issue is the credibility in terms of deciphering some sort of intent, looping some sort of federal felony into the case, and it’s just not going to come together, it was a political promise Alvin Bragg made and he’s run through,” Trusty said.
He said Bragg’s case was full of frailties and the defence team would be seeking to move up the December adjournment date to file their motion to dismiss the charges.
“I think most of us anticipated an indictment that would have the frailties this one has. The idea of trying to expedite a motion to dismiss is not totally foreign, so we’ll see if we’re stuck with December… but I know that the attorneys will get their heads together and figure out if there’s a way to try to push this earlier. I think the December date is probably a pretty typical kind of auto-generated date when it comes to a new case coming in the door, but I like the idea of at least resolving some important motions to dismiss earlier rather than later, but we’ll see,” Trusty said.