2023-08-28 06:28:08
Donald Trump should be fixed on his fate in court on Monday, August 28. The 45th President of the United States (2017-2021) and his defense have proposed that his federal trial on his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election result be held in April 2026, well after the 2024 presidential election. Special Prosecutor Jack Smith had meanwhile proposed that the trial begin on January 2, 2024, judging that it “shouldn’t last more than four to six weeks”. But it is indeed Judge Tanya Chutkan, who will preside over the debates on the investigation into the assault on the capitol and will decide during the hearing on Monday.
The Republican leader was already charged in three cases. He has just been charged in a fourth, Monday August 14 in Georgia, for allegedly unlawful attempts to obtain the reversal of the result of the 2020 election in this key state. And for the first time, Donald Trump seems to have suffered the same treatment as any citizen.
Briefly placed under arrest by the sheriff’s office upon his arrival in Atlanta, the billionaire was measured and weighed. Like any criminal, he had the right to have his mug shot taken, a mugshot made public in the evening, a first for a former American president. After a whirlwind stint in the overcrowded and unsanitary Fulton County Jail, he posted $200,000 bail and walked free but was “stuck” like any other defendant under court number P01135809.
A “mugshot”, a campaign and economic tool
Son mugshot went viral instantly, on social networks or in the US media. Normally infamous, he was co-opted by leader Maga to feed his narrative as a martyr of America, persecuted by Democrats and justice. In addition to capitalizing on its legal setbacks, this mugshot allowed him to mark a triumphant return to X (formerly Twitter), to his base.
In addition, Trump will be able to capitalize financially on his image as a prisoner. In exchange for 47 dollars of contribution to a new fundraiser of the Republican candidate, largely at the head of the polls for the primaries of his party in 2024, each of his fans will be offered a white t-shirt printed with the photo of legal identity under which the slogan is displayed « Never surrender ! » (“Never surrender! »).
Differential treatment
Previously, Donald Trump received differential, even privileged treatment. Thus, during his first indictment in the case of the classified documents, stored in his Mar-a-Lago residence – the first federal indictment of an American president – the federal judge Aileen Cannon, appointed by Donald Trump, had demanded a neutral and independent expert to filter the documents seized at his home, a serious setback for the Ministry of Justice.
She considered this decision, extraordinary for a criminal procedure, necessary to preserve the reputation of Donald Trump. “She said that since Trump was an ex-president, he was entitled to privileged status»underlines Eric Lisann, lawyer and former prosecutor in the suburbs of Washington, interviewed in the podcast “ Democracy » of the RTS.
A differentiated treatment which was reproduced on April 4, during his appearance in Manhattan. Admittedly, his fingerprints were taken. But, while he was to leave the court in handcuffs, as the procedure indicates, this was not the case. The Secret Service had requested that he have his hands free in the event of an emergency evacuation, a measure negotiated with his lawyers.
Trump can still run
In September 2022, the ex-president argued in an interview with Hugh Hewitt, a pro-Trump radio host and columnist at Washington Posthow healthy “impeachment would trigger unprecedented problems for the country. The people would not support it”.
Pending trial, he is not being prosecuted for the Capitol insurrection and this rules out his disqualification for the presidential election of 2024, potentially provided for under section 3 of the 14th amendment, in the event of participation. “to an insurrection or rebellion”. If the trials take place before the election, if found guilty and detained, he could run and campaign from prison. And, if elected…pardon himself.
On the other hand, he could not do it within the framework of his future judgment in Georgia. The local indictment assures the judicial institution of its independence. Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor, is elected and does not report to the federal administration. He and his 18 co-defendants are expected to return to Atlanta in court the week of Sept. 5 to announce whether or not they plead guilty. Trump will have to go there. If he does not turn up for the hearings, he can be considered a fugitive.
“I could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and it wouldn’t cost me a single vote.», laughed Donald Trump in 2016, in front of a crowd of voters in Iowa, just as hilarious. But today, it is indeed him who is in the sights of justice.
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