Trump’s sleazy dealings

Donald Trump has etched his name in the history books as the first former US president to be indicted. The exact charges are not yet known because the indictment was filed under seal in a New York state court. However, reports suggest he faces over 30 counts of criminal fraud. While Trump is not expected to be handcuffed, he will still be fingerprinted and photographed like a common criminal, itself an epic fall from grace for the once-most powerful man in the world. The indictment caught Trump and his supporters by surprise — Trump himself had loudly claimed earlier this month that he was about to be arrested, but then stopped talking about it after the Manhattan district attorney refrained from responding. Trump’s calls for action also yielded little: the biggest pro-Trump protests in New York City this week only saw five attendees and one reasonably large sign.

However, Republicans are already setting up a partisan battle, with Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida, where Trump now resides, having said he would refuse an extradition request from New York. But DeSantis, who is considered the second-most likely Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election, after Trump himself, may simply be currying favour with Trump voters after failing miserably to rebrand himself as Trump 2.0.

The main charge is believed to be criminal fraud — creating false business records — to conceal another crime, specifically alleged campaign finance violations and tax fraud. This is also where Trump may yet wriggle out of the law’s clutches since campaign finance violations and tax fraud are federal crimes for which he has not yet been charged. Without the underlying federal crimes, falsifying records will probably be bumped down from a jailable offense to a simple fine. But interestingly, even a criminal conviction does not bar Trump from running or serving as president, since it is a state crime. And if he were to win, the reality show star may not pardon himself and would theoretically have to start his term while in prison.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 1^st, 2023.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.