Let The Trump Circus Begin

After what has seemed like an eternity, the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has finally secured an indictment against Donald Trump.

A grand jury in Manhattan has voted to indict Donald Trump, according to three sources familiar with the matter – the first time in American history that a current or former president will face criminal charges.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office has been investigating the former president in connection with his alleged role in a hush money payment scheme and cover-up involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates to the 2016 presidential election.

While the indictments are still under seal, the broad parameters of the offense for which Donald Trump is being charged appear to be that he made presumably illicit payments to Stormy Daniels, and possibly one other woman, Karen McDougal, to persuade them not to reveal their sexual liasons with The Donald at least while he was campaigning for President in 2016.

Intriguingly, these payments were also the subject of criminal charges that had been brought against Michael Cohen in 2018, and for which the former lawyer, who described himself as “Trump’s fixer”, eventually pleaded guilty.

Michael Cohen, the president’s former personal lawyer, told a federal judge that Donald Trump had directed him during the 2016 campaign to buy the silence of two women who said they had affairs with Mr. Trump.

Mr. Cohen made the statement as he pleaded guilty Tuesday to eight criminal charges, including campaign-finance violations. He said he paid $130,000 to adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, known professionally as Stormy Daniels, and coordinated a $150,000 payment by the publisher of the National Enquirer to former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

Mr. Cohen, who has described himself as Mr. Trump’s “fixer,” said he made both payments “for the purpose of influencing the election” and acted at the direction of “the candidate,” referring to Mr. Trump. That was the first time Mr. Cohen has admitted to coordinating with the president on the hush-money deals with women, both of which were first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

Donald Trump is, of course, claiming this is a politically motivated prosecution—really a persecution. Per Fox News, his full statement on the charges is as follows:

“This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history. From the time I came down the golden esca

lator at Trump Tower, and even before I was sworn in as your President of the United States, the Radical Left Democrats - the enemy of the hard-working men and women of this Country - have been engaged in a Witch-Hunt to destroy the Make America Great Again movement. You remember it just like I do: Russia, Russia, Russia; the Mueller Hoax; Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine; Impeachment Hoax 1; Impeachment Hoax 2; the illegal and unconstitutional Mar-a-Lago raid; and now this.

“The Democrats have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to ‘Get Trump,’ but now they’ve done the unthinkable - indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference.

“Never before in our Nation’s history has this been done. The Democrats have cheated countless times over the decades, including spying on my campaign, but weaponizing our justice system to punish a political opponent, who just so happens to be a President of the United States and by far the leading Republican candidate for President, has never happened before. Ever.

“Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who was hand-picked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace. Rather than stopping the unprecedented crime wave taking over New York City, he’s doing Joe Biden’s dirty work, ignoring the murders and burglaries and assaults he should be focused on. This is how Bragg spends his time!

“I believe this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden. The American people realize exactly what the Radical Left Democrats are doing here. Everyone can see it. So our Movement, and our Party - united and strong - will first defeat Alvin Bragg, and then we will defeat Joe Biden, and we are going to throw every last one of these Crooked Democrats out of office so we can MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

While Donald Trump’s presumptive conduct with both women is undeniably sleazy at best, there are still more than a few questions surrounding the propriety of any charges related to payments made to Stormy Daniels.

How Alvin Bragg will overcome the reality that Ms. Daniels lost her defamation lawsuit to Trump and had to pay him $300,000, which would seem to taint her as a credible witness, is certainly one question I have about these charges.

How it is that Donald Trump can be criminally charged for the conduct of Michael Cohen—who, as a lawyer, would be expected to find legal means to persuade or pay both women for their silence during the 2016 campaign—is another question. Asking a lawyer to do something legal is hardly the stuff of criminal conspiracy.

Moreover, how is it that these charges were not brought as a result of Cohen’s 2018 guilty plea? If Cohen did in fact undertake to break the law at the specific request or urging of Donald Trump, why has it been this long for a case to be brought against Trump? The passage of time alone raises questions of political bias and even corruption within Alvin Bragg’s office.

Finally, if Stormy Daniels or Karen MacDougal solicited the payments from Donald Trump, how is it they are not facing charges for blackmail and extortion? Payments to former lovers so they will not go public with details of affairs may or may not be criminal, depending on the particulars. Former lovers demanding payment in exchange for silence is without a doubt criminal. The law does not allow anyone to extort money in such fashion.

One thing is certain: between Trump’s flair for theatrics and Democrats’ obsession with vilifying him even at the expense of sanity and reason, this trial will be an embarrassment to all involved. No one will look good at the end of this. Legal circuses do not provide justice for anyone, and this legal circus will be no different.