The fraud trial became a campaign event for Trump, where he could tell that he was the victim of big conspiracies, writes HS’s foreign correspondent Pekka Mykkänen.
of the United States people who find themselves in the legal system are often deeply troubled. Some may tremble in fear before courts known for their harsh punishments—and their judges and juries.
Only very few Americans dare to open their mouths to the judge in the courtroom and call the trial a “fraud”. Or slander the prosecutor as a “political scumbag”. Or defy the wise advice of your own lawyers.
If this is the rule, then a visible exception to the rule is made Donald J. Trumpa former president who is running for president again surrounded by numerous lawsuits.
Trump took the witness stand on Monday in a fraud trial in New York, where he has already been found to have falsified his property values for financial gain. Now the judge Arthur Engoron is considering an appropriate punishment for him, possibly $250 million in fines and a ban from doing business in New York State.
Trump was heard in the civil case for four hours on Monday. Some of the answers were rambling monologues about what kind of witch hunts Trump thinks he has been subjected to. “This court is guilty of fraud, not me,” Trump said, for example, about a case where there is no jury and whose verdict is decided by Engoro alone.
At one point, Engoron ordered Trump’s lawyer to restrain the ex-president, but it had no effect. No, although his son too Donald Jr. and Eric are sitting on the dock.
“This is not a political campaign event,” Engoron stated.
For Trump however, it was another campaign stop where he was told that he was the victim of big conspiracies and how the US justice system is “weaponized” for the campaign against him.
The message should be that if Trump is voted for president, Americans will no longer have to suffer from such a badly rotten system where innocent politicians are hunted down.
A similar circus is on offer until the elections held on November 5, 2024. Four criminal cases have been brought against Trump this year, which 91 charges he could in theory get just over 700 years prison sentences.
When the first criminal charges were read at the end of March, the media still remembered to say that it was a historic event. No criminal cases had been brought against any other president. With Trump, the same has now been seen Four times this year.
During his time as president, there were two impeachment trials against Trump in Congress, in which he was acquitted by his fellow Republicans. Before that, US history had seen a total of two impeachment trials against the president.
For many for a politician, even one accusation can be too much in front of the voters. But there is an exception to this rule. In March, Trump was supported by about 47 percent of Republican voters, while now, following the filing of four criminal cases, support hovers between 55 and 60 percent.
Trump, who has used his own name in many businesses and products, has noticed that the lawsuits actually help him on his way to becoming the candidate of his party and even the leader of his country.
Last August, a lawsuit was launched against Trump in Georgia, and authorities released an arrest photo of him. Trump’s campaign and other supporters immediately started selling t-shirts, coffee mugs, bumper stickers and other trinkets that are decorated with the arrest photo.
Trump’s campaign receives about 15 million dollars in donations every month, which Trump spends almost as fiercely on his legal expenses. Of course, legal fees are excluded from election advertising, but the free attention brought by lawsuits takes that place.
#Comment #Trumps #trials #circus #financially #benefits #election #campaign
