By Illinois Review
On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump entered a New York City courtroom to plead “not guilty” to 34 counts during an unprecedented arraignment – becoming the first American president to be indicted in US history.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg campaigned in 2021 on indicting the former president – and on March 31st, a New York City grand jury voted to indict Trump, stemming from his alleged role in hush money payments to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Trump has repeatedly denied having an affair with Daniels, and in 2019, Daniels said the same thing, stating, “it never happened.”
In 2018, Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, wrote a letter stating that he, “used his own personal funds to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Stephanie Clifford [Stormy Daniels], and “neither the Trump Organization nor the Trump campaign was a party to the transaction…and neither reimbursed Mr. Cohen for the payment directly or indirectly.”
The indictment of a former president sent shockwaves across the country, with many accusing Bragg of weaponizing his office to target both a political enemy and the leading Republican candidate for president.
Indicting and prosecuting a former president is common in Third World countries like Bolivia and Venezuela, but not in the United States – the most powerful country in the world.
At the start of 2023, major crimes rose by 22 percent in New York City, and just recently, it was reported that felony assaults and car thefts were on the rise, yet Bragg is allocating office resources and weaponizing his position as district attorney to pursue a political enemy.
The president’s son Eric Trump even tweeted,
“Alvin Bragg has shut down the entire city, called up 38,000 NYPD police officers, closed down the FDR Drive and is spending an estimated $200 million of city funds, all for a $130,000 NDA. I never thought I would see this level of corruption in the United States.”
After departing the courthouse, Trump’s motorcade made its way to LaGuardia Airport, where he is expected to return to Palm Beach, Florida to deliver a prime time speech tonight at his Mar-a-Lago residence.
