"Former US President Donald Trump Faces 34 Criminal Charges and Possible 136-Year Sentence "

Former US President Donald Trump has made history as the first former president to be arrested. The charges brought against him are serious criminal charges related to hush money that was allegedly paid to three people before the 2016 election. The former president has been hit with 34 charges, each about falsifying business records for the payoffs made to porn actor Stormy Daniels, Playboy model Karen McDougal, and the doorman at his Trump Tower. If convicted on all 34 charges, he could theoretically face 136 years in prison, under the creative way Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg framed the charges breaking out separate transactions into individual charges.
Appearing in the New York State Supreme Court, Trump pleaded not guilty and declared his intention to fight the charges. The charges are part of a grand jury investigation, in which a panel of citizens investigated the case in secret hearings, voted on Thursday, and found a prima facie case against him. This enabled Manhattan prosecutor Alvin Bragg to file charges against him.
Trump, who is the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, is under at least three other investigations, two by federal authorities on his role in the attack on the US Congress by his rioting supporters in January 2021 and his handling of top-secret documents, and a local investigation in Georgia State, where he is being investigated for trying to manipulate the 2020 presidential election result.
The former president's arrest was indeed surreal, as it was carried out under the watchful eyes of the Secret Service, who are mandated to guard former Presidents. He was booked without being handcuffed or asked to pose for identification pictures but made to give his fingerprints. He was taken to the courtroom of Acting New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, where he sat somberly at the defendant's table flanked by his lawyers as he was formally charged. Subscribe for more content like this.
After being admonished by the judge against making incendiary statements, Trump left the courtroom and later made a rambling speech to his supporters, restating his versions that the case and the investigations were political persecutions and an "insult to the country." He posted on his social media, "Seems so SURREAL -- WOW, they are going to ARREST ME. Can't believe this is happening in America."
The next hearing in the case is set for December, which is likely to impinge on the race for the presidency. The US Constitution does not bar an undertrial or even a convict from running for the President, raising the question of whether he could still run for President if convicted.
The hub of the cases against Trump is a series of payments that were made to his former lawyer Michael Cohen, who in turn paid off Daniels with $130,000 to silence her. The prosecution alleges that the Trump business records falsely classified the payments as lawyer's fees when in fact they were payoffs to Daniels. Cohen was prosecuted by federal officials for tax evasion and federal election law violations and was sentenced to three years in prison. He is the prime witness in the case against Trump.
In a park across from the courthouse, supporters and opponents of Trump held opposing demonstrations, separated by barricades, exchanging insults but there was no violence. A right-wing Republican member of the House of Representatives, Marjorie Taylor Greene had called for a protest there but was shouted down by Trump opponents and fled.
Bragg, whose election was helped by an organisation that received $500,000 from George Soros, the billionaire activist who meddles in the internal affairs of countries around the world, including India, made the falsification of business records into felonies or serious crimes, while they are usually treated as misdemeanours or minor offences. He has, on the other hand, downgraded half of the serious violent crimes in Manhattan into minor offences.
The world was left stunned as former US President Donald Trump became the first former president to be arrested on criminal charges. The charges are not insignificant - in fact, they are serious and numerous. Trump has been hit with 34 criminal charges related to hush money that was allegedly paid to three people, including porn actor Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
The charges against Trump are each about falsifying business records for the payoffs made before the 2016 election. Both Daniels and McDougal had asserted that they had affairs with Trump, and the doorman at his Trump Tower claimed to have known about an illegitimate child Trump fathered. If Trump is convicted on all 34 charges, he could theoretically face 136 years in prison - four years for each offense.
Despite the gravity of the charges, Trump pleaded not guilty when he appeared in the New York State Supreme Court on Tuesday. He declared his intention to fight the charges, setting the stage for what could be a dramatic and highly publicized trial. Trump's case has been the subject of much speculation in the media, with many observers wondering what impact it will have on his political future.
Trump is currently the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and he is only two points behind US President Joe Biden in a poll aggregation. The next hearing in the case is set for December, which means that the trial could impinge on the race for the presidency. This is a prospect that has many political analysts and pundits eagerly anticipating the outcome of the case.
It is worth noting that the US Constitution does not bar an undertrial or even a convict from running for the presidency. This means that even if Trump is convicted on all 34 charges, he could still theoretically run for the presidency in 2024. This adds another layer of intrigue to an already complex and high-stakes situation.
Of course, the charges against Trump are not the only legal troubles he is facing. He is also under investigation in at least three other cases. Two of these investigations are being conducted by federal authorities and concern his role in the attack on the US Congress by his rioting supporters in January 2021 and his handling of top-secret documents. The third investigation is a local one being conducted in Georgia State, which is looking into whether he tried to manipulate the 2020 presidential election result.
In a rambling speech to his supporters on Tuesday night, after returning home to Florida, Trump reiterated his belief that the case and the investigations were political persecutions and an "insult to the country". He has been highly critical of the legal system and has accused the judge in his case of hating him. This is a theme that has been echoed by many of his supporters, who believe that he is being unfairly targeted by the justice system.
Despite these protests, the legal process is continuing. Trump was released without bail by Acting New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan, and he left for a local airport from where he flew on his private Boeing 757 to his Mar-a-Lago home. The scene of his arrest was surreal, as it was carried out under the watchful eyes of the Secret Service that is mandated to guard former Presidents. After being booked without being handcuffed or asked to pose for identification pictures but made to give his fingerprints, he was taken to the courtroom of Acting New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan.
It remains to be seen what the outcome of the case will be, and whether Trump will be convicted on any or all of the charges. Whatever the outcome, however, it is clear that this is a case that will have far-reaching implications for American politics and for the future of the Republican Party. Thanks for watching, subscribe our channel for authenticity.