Donald Trump, farther or closer to the White House?
By Raúl Antonio Capote
The indictment makes the former president the first former president to face criminal charges in U.S. history.
Michael D. Cohen, Trump's lawyer and troubleshooter who pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations in August 2018, admitted that he helped arrange the payment to Daniels, in addition to another payment to a former Playboy model, to help Trump's presidential bid, on Trump's orders.
The payment made to Daniels sought the actress' silence ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Faced with the Court's accusation, Trump's response was immediate: "Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history," he said in a statement, according to La Opinión.
Adored by extreme right-wing groups and followers of the most irrational conspiracy theories, Trump began his run for the Republican Party's candidacy for the presidency with low scores in the polls.
Some analysts even predicted his defeat against other opponents; however, in the face of the possible indictment by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, the tycoon has climbed in the polls. According to the Fox News poll, Donald Trump has doubled his lead over Ron DeSantis by 30 percentage points.
In view of the situation created, questions arise in many people. Does the accusation seek to shut down the former president or catapult him directly to the elections? Is it a matter of enforcing justice in the United States, for the first time, in the case of a former president?
It happens that when we take a look at the process we find several interesting elements. It is true that when Trump was campaigning for the presidency, his team negotiated a confidentiality agreement with Daniels, in exchange for $130,000. However, the payment to the actress was made by Michael Cohen, and he has testified that he obtained the money from his home equity line of credit and that the amount was later reimbursed to him, which can be well exploited by his lawyers.
Another element that may work in favor of the defendant is the lack of precedent.
For more than two centuries, presidents - even those who have been affected by scandals - while in office have had immunity from prosecution, even enjoying that privilege when they leave office.
In U.S. elections, marked by setbacks and low blows to opponents, many things can happen. In addition, the 45th president of the United States is under indictment for possible crimes of insurrection, withholding classified documents and obstruction of justice in a national security case.
In the face of all that, being indicted for paying for the silence of a porn star doesn't seem so bad.
