(VitalNews.org) – A new page was written in American history on April 4, 2023, when former United States President Donald Trump was indicted and arraigned on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. He is the nation’s first Commander in Chief to be criminally charged, and the case is expected to proceed well into the approaching election season. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts listed against him.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg leads the prosecution, alleging the false records interfered with voter information and, therefore, the 2016 presidential election. Trump’s response is the flipside of that coin, as he insists that Bragg’s intense pursuit of this case is politically motivated and causing a major interference in the upcoming 2024 election.
The indictment in question is primarily based on three hush money payments made to suppress potentially reputation-damaging information while then-candidate Donald Trump prepared for and pursued his ultimately successful bid for the country’s highest office. The current question is, if these payments were made for the reasons suggested, do they qualify as criminal? The question of moral obligation to the American public is up for debate, but felony criminal charges come with a higher standard of proof, even more so at the expense of the taxpayer and the reputation of the Office of President.
Bragg argues there was a repeated scheme in which Trump’s then-lawyer, Michael Cohen, made deals with people to buy their silence regarding interactions with Trump that suggested extra-marital affairs with the real estate giant. When Trump repaid Cohen for the payments made, the repayments were listed in business records as legal retainer fees. Following the money, such fees would come with tax implications, and the alleged fraud flows from these very classifications.
Trump was allowed to return to his Mar-a-Lago estate, and the case will continue in the courtroom on December 4, 2023, when the 2024 election is fully underway.
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