2023-06-09 13:25:23
Donald Trump keep making history. This Thursday (early Friday morning in Spain) he became the first president of the United States to be indicted on federal charges for him irregular handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. Last March, a New York grand jury He already indicted Trump with criminal charges for payments he made before the 2016 presidential election to silence allegations of a sexual relationship by the porn star Stormy Daniels. As in March, multiple questions are now being raised about what can happen with the former president and with his candidacy for the Republican Party primaries for the 2024 presidential elections.
The Mar-a-Lago papers
The case for which Trump has been charged again, whose investigation began in early 2022, refers to the confidential material that the former president took from the White House when he left office. The tycoon kept it in his Mar-a-Lago residence, Florida, only agreeing to hand it over when the National Archives and Records Administration threatened legal action. At that time, he gave 15 boxes. But the Justice Department suspected there were more and in June managed to recover another three dozen documents, adding to the hundred seized in a mansion record held on August 8. Among the seized papers were secret information about Iran, China already close to nuclear capabilities from a foreign country, as revealed by US media.
The charges against him are not yet officially known. Trumpbut people familiar with the investigation have revealed to the country’s media that they have been presented seven charges before a federal court. Among the crimes are obstruction of justice and conspiracy, in addition to false statements and illegal detainer of classified documents under the espionage law. Several of these charges are considered serious. Violations of the Espionage Act can carry up to 10 years in prison, while obstruction of justice – also a felony – carries a maximum sentence of 20 years.
Will the spouse be arrested?
On your social media platform Truth SocialOwn Trump has communicated that the summons date before a federal court in Miami is Tuesday, June 13. Carl Tobias, professor of law at the University of Richmond, in Virginia, explained to the BBC that the detention of Trump would likely follow a similar pattern to his arrest in April on charges of falsification of business records regarding the assumptions paid of money for his silence to Stormy Daniels. At the time, Trump turned himself in to authorities in New York and appeared in court to plead not guilty. They took the fingerprints, but he was not handcuffed or had a mugshot taken of him. The expert assures that it is unlikely that he will be handcuffed or have a mugshot taken at the next appearance.
Once the first paperwork in court has been completed, Trump it will be indictedwhich means that will hear the charges y will declare Before the court. It is almost certain that he will not go to pretrial detention. Factors a judge weighs in deciding whether to detain someone pretrial include the flight risk of the defendant, his dangerousness for the community and its violent criminal record.
Various experts have agreed that it cannot be taken for granted that Trump be convicted because it will be difficult to prove the commission of some crimes. For obstruction of justice charges, for example, the law says prosecutors would have to show that Trump or members of his team “knowingly” tampered with materials “to impede, obstruct, or influence” the investigation. Ultimately, it may be difficult to prove that Trump he knew what was happening. He could also argue that his staff tampered with the documents without his consent.
How will it affect the presidential race?
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It is not yet clear what impact the new indictments may have on the popularity of Trump. His arrest in NY had a negligible impact in his popularity, and he remained the clear favorite for the Republican presidential nomination for the 2024 general elections. From a legal point of view, experts consider that the judicial process, even with a possible conviction, is not an impediment to his return to be president. Under US law, nothing prevents a person from running for election if he faces criminal charges.
At least two candidates have previously run for president with criminal convictions. In 1920, the socialist Eugene Debs ran for president despite having been convicted by the espionage law in connection with an anti-war speech in 1918. The conspiracionista Lyndon LaRouche he also ran for president multiple times despite being convicted of fraud in 1988. One of his presidential bids, in 1992, took place while he was in a Minnesota federal prison. Both lost the elections.
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