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Donald Trump himself announced it the weekend before last. He will be arrested, he wrote on his own social media channel “Truth Social”, and also gave the date: the Tuesday before last.
Now it was a little later, and Trump was apparently caught on the wrong foot by the decision of a New York “grand jury” to indict him in connection with an alleged hush money payment to a porn star.
Difficult proof
Legally, this single case is the least of all ongoing proceedings against Donald Trump. If he is convicted, he faces several years in prison, but it will not be easy for the prosecuting attorney to present the evidence.
He will have to prove that the alleged hush money payments were made on behalf of Trump, that he illegally used campaign donations to make those payments, and that he subsequently booked the hush money payments as expenses for his attorney.
Indictment carries unprecedented explosive force
However, there are several indications that the indictment could cover many more counts, possibly going well beyond the hush money payments. Irrespective of this, however, the political and social explosive power of this indictment exceeds its legal significance in an unprecedented way.
No former US President has ever been indicted. And one who wants to be president again. One who uses this same accusation to stylize himself as a victim. Calling on his followers to “take back” the country and branding the process as a “politically motivated witch hunt”. Someone who agitates against the investigators, who calls the responsible public prosecutor an “animal” and shows himself threateningly with a baseball bat in his hand.
No turning back for Trump supporters
Even after Trump’s premature announcement, supporters in Congress began to build a political wagon complex around their leader. MPs’ demands ranged from summoning the prosecutor to his arrest.
After the news of the indictment, the tone immediately became even sharper: The “hateful ‘Deep State'” wanted “the country to burn,” tweeted Texan Ronny Jackson, and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that he wanted to prevent Donald Trump’s extradition .
Republicans support Trump
Republicans rally behind Trump after the impeachment announcement. His chances of being named their presidential nominee again in a little over a year have just increased significantly with this indictment.
And the followers on the street? This will be the great litmus test. Just as the case (and all the other possible trials Trump may face) is becoming a fundamental litmus test for the US: can a former president be given a fair trial? And will both he and his supporters on the one hand or the opponents on the other recognize the outcome of this process? If not, there will be serious consequences for the US.