A lawsuit is being filed against Donald Trump. It is the first time a former president has been indicted in the United States. And one more who wants to run again next year. The USA is venturing into uncharted political and legal territory. USA expert Claudia Brühwiler on the consequences of the unprecedented events.
SRF News: Does this indictment open a Pandora’s box: will it become common in the USA to use legal proceedings to finish off political opponents?
Claudia Brühwiler: This risk cannot be ruled out. Especially since it is ingrained in American culture to go to court to resolve any dispute. Nonetheless, a District Attorney in particular should be more committed to the law than to political logic.
New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg is a Democrat. That’s a problem for Republicans, but not for you. Why?
At the end of the day, what matters is that the court and the jury that will judge are neutral. In the US, prosecutors are always a bit of a politician: they want to be elected or are planning further career steps that require an election. Political calculation is never far away here. Ultimately, however, it is about the neutrality of the court. The Republican critics are also likely to become quieter here.
In addition, many of the particularly loud Republicans are loud because they don’t want to alienate voters. You’re talking after Trump’s electorate. At the same time, these are just the Republicans who have presidential ambitions themselves. They might not be so unhappy if Trump were otherwise absorbed in the election campaign.
Could Trump still run for president if convicted?
Interestingly, he could. The only way that could have stopped him was through a successful impeachment trial. This could have taken away any opportunity for him to seek public office again.
Trump will now stage himself as the victim of revenge justice.
“Just” being convicted is not enough to prevent someone from seeking a post like that of President. Trump could even rule from prison – if voters want it.
Could Trump make political capital out of this indictment?
That cannot be ruled out. He will now stage himself as a victim of revenge justice. But he is also aware that a trial will cost him a lot of attention. He also does not yet know whether further proceedings will be initiated. American legal experts expect that Trump would then be in court during the hot phase of the election campaign. That would be an unfavorable starting point for a successful candidacy.
There are six other investigations against Trump, including the storming of the Capitol and attempts to manipulate the elections in Georgia. Why is the less important case of hush money payments to a porn actress now being charged?
One can only speculate about that. The DA probably thinks he has a near watertight case and he can get a conviction. The other methods are possibly less promising. The procedure that the Ministry of Justice could initiate has a different starting point. The ministry is currently in democratic hands. The accusation of political revenge justice would be much more obvious than it already is in this case.
The conversation was conducted by Simone Hulliger.