The decision to prosecute Donald Trump will have to be left to a special prosecutor, similar to the task given to Robert Muller in the Russian investigation.
A5 NEWS – From an accusation of rape to multiple financial scams, not to mention attempts to suborn witnesses in the context of the last presidential election, not to mention the investigation into his involvement in the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021, the former American president is under the weight of at least 19 legal proceedings.
The public would be asking, what are these legal cases that threaten the former tenant of the White House? In fact, in an article entitled “The People v Donald J Trump”, the New York Magazine already listed the accusations that weigh on the leader, defeated in the polls “given the number of crimes he has committed, the period during which he committed them and the range of jurisdictions in which they take place, his potential legal exposure is staggering.
The Russian Investigation
Among these thundering cases, first in class is the “Russian Investigation” which happens to be among the most sensitive cases. Started in spring 2017, and entrusted to the independent prosecutor Robert Muller, it concerns possible links between the Russian government and Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. The prosecutor concluded that the Kremlin had attempted to interfere, but he failed to prove voluntary complicity on the American side and endorsed the doctrine that “a president cannot be prosecuted for a federal offence while in office”. This prohibition in principle will no longer hold as of 20 January 2021.
Ukraine case
During his term of office, Donald Trump was nevertheless the subject of impeachment proceedings, but in another matter, the “Ukraine affair”. He was then suspected of having suspended important military aid to Ukraine and an official visit to the White House by President Volodymy Zelenski to force the latter to open an investigation into the entourage of one of his direct political opponents: Joe Biden. But the case is not completely closed, as the file is now in the hands of a prosecutor in Brooklyn (New York), reports the New York time.
Ongoing investigations
After repeatedly violating the 1939 law that prohibits any federal employee from engaging in any partisan activity, “taxpayers, regardless of party affiliation, fund the government to work on behalf of all Americans, not to campaign for a party or candidate,” the non-partisan organization said, The non-partisan political watchdog Citizen for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (crew) points out that the former president is threatened by possible campaign finance violations, for which his former counsel Michael Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison. At issue is a large sum of money paid to former pornographic actress Stormy Daniels, as part of a confidentiality clause signed days before the 2016 presidential election.
Tax revelations
Donald Trump could also potentially run into trouble with the law over taxes. The businessman paid only $750 (€633) in federal taxes the year he was elected. He was elected four years ago and had not paid income tax in ten of the previous fifteen years. There are many calls for a thorough investigation of this matter in order to determine whether or not this is a legal manoeuvre or whether he has engaged in tax evasion. It should be noted that the above-mentioned cases only concern federal crimes. However, Donald Trump is also involved in a series of cases at state level. For the past two years, he has been facing criminal proceedings for tax and insurance fraud launched by the Manhattan (New York) District Attorney, Cyrus Vance.
Faced with this avalanche of proceedings against one man, one is tempted to ask naively what fate will be reserved for him?
However, all that is at stake is Joe Biden. He will have to make sure that no one is above the law. But he will have to avoid coming across as a vindictive man, eager to ‘punish’ the man who has repeatedly attacked him and those closest to him. And even though during his four years at the head of the Federal State, Donald Trump is accused of having hijacked the judicial intuition for the benefit of his administration.
The decision to prosecute Donald Trump should thus be left to a special prosecutor, similar to the mission entrusted to Robert Muller in the Russian investigation.
By A5 NEWS
