A historic affair. First president indicted in 250 years of democracy in the United States, Donald Trump should appear on Tuesday in a suspicious transaction case during the 2016 presidential campaign. A political and judicial earthquake that he owes in particular to three personalities: the adult film actress Stormy Daniels, her attorney Clark Brewster, and Democratic prosecutor Alvin Bragg. Three very different profiles, but with a common goal: to push the uncontrollable ex-president to account in a file with new springs.
Stormy Daniels, the pebble in Trump’s shoe
She’s the star of this affair, and the pebble in Trump’s shoe. For several years now, pornographic actress Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has claimed to anyone who wants to hear that she spent a night with Donald Trump during the summer of 2006. Trump was then only a wealthy magnate of real estate, married to Melania Trump, and just celebrated the birth of Barron, the youngest of his sons.
Donald Trump strongly denies this deception. There remains one certainty: just before the 2016 presidential election, Stormy Daniels received $130,000 to remain silent. The existence of this transaction was revealed in 2018. Since then, the actress has never missed an opportunity to make fun of the former head of state in the media and on Twitter, going so far as to nickname him “Tiny” (“ very small”, in French), in reference to its anatomy.
Media litigation will now be played out in court. The discovery of the payment received by Stormy Daniels triggered Trump’s criminal indictment, with the sum not reported in the Republican candidate’s campaign accounts in violation of state election laws, and recorded as “legal fees.” in the accounts of his company, which is headquartered in New York. Enough to shed light, once again, on this new enemy of Trump, who had also considered running for the United States Senate in 2010.
Alvin Bragg, the progressive prosecutor
New York State Prosecutor for the Manhattan jurisdiction, Alvin Bragg will also give Donald Trump some grain to grind. A member of the Democratic Party, the first African-American to hold this position, he is particularly known for putting pressure on white-collar and financial crime. Enough to attract the wrath of Republican conservatives, including in New York.
Alvin Bragg had already attacked the Trump empire by succeeding, last January, in condemning the family business Trump Organization to a $ 1.6 million fine for financial and tax fraud. Donald Trump was not prosecuted in this case, but he regularly called Alvin Bragg a “racist” and a “leftist”.
Clark Brewster, Trump’s highly critical lawyer
“No one is above the law,” he thunders on Twitter. Oklahoma-based attorney Clark Brewster calls himself a criminal defense specialist and has represented Stormy Daniels in all of his cases since 2019.
The American lawyer constantly criticizes Donald Trump on social networks. After the January 6, 2021 Capitol assault, Clark Brewster relayed the tweet of a colleague calling the former president a “psychopath”, and even reposted a call to bring him to justice.
This does not mean that he welcomes the indictment of Donald Trump on Thursday in the case of the suspicious transaction. This “is not a cause for celebration”, he reacted, still on Twitter. “The hard work and conscience of the grand jury must be respected. Now let truth and justice prevail,” he continued.