A tribunal. A perimeter cordoned off by the police. Dozens of cameras on the lookout for hours. Donald Trump faces a judge, pleading not guilty, then released. This historic scenography in Miami (Florida), Tuesday June 13, already experienced in New York two months ago in another instruction, marks a decisive step in the legal throes that surround the former president. Favorite of the Republican primaries, here he is charged at the federal level for willful possession of documents relating to national security, carried away and concealed after his departure from the White House, and obstruction of an investigation.
Having left the court with his personal assistant, Waltine Nauta, the other accused, Donald Trump stopped at Versailles, a famous Cuban restaurant in Miami, to greet his fans. A way for him to integrate the event into his campaign, to pretend to ride what he does not control, as if nothing should deflect him from his race for the White House in 2024.
Donald Trump poses as the victim of a Democratic conspiracy, with the complicity of magistrates “Marxists”, such as special prosecutor Jack Smith, present at the hearing. During a disjointed speech, the evening, in his golf club in Bedminster (New Jersey), in the preamble to an inevitable fundraiser, the ex-director justified the conservation of “my own presidential papers”, as if his mandate had never been interrupted. Joe Biden? “Corrupt. » The special prosecutor? “He looks like a thug. » Investigation ? “Election Interference”worthy of a “fascist or communist nation”. The public came alive singing ” Happy birthday ! »
For the time being, this strategy seems to have some effectiveness among Republican sympathizers: according to a CBS News-YouGov poll, 76% believe that these lawsuits are politically motivated. In the base of the “Grand Old Party” (GOP), a form of skepticism vis-à-vis justice has imposed itself since the very beginning of its mandate, in 2017, over scandals without criminal translation and two unsuccessful impeachment proceedings in Congress. The lies of the Trump team have cemented this mistrust, which has become hostility to the federal government itself.
Multiply the remedies to delay the prospect of a trial
On the merits, the defense of the former leader seems very fragile. Presenting Donald Trump as a victim is ” ridiculous “, said his former justice minister, William Barr, on the conservative Fox News channel. According to him, if only half of the indictment were confirmed, the candidate would be “cooked”.
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