Criminal charges facing Trump explained by former anti-corruption prosecutor
A former anti-corruption prosecutor for the New York State Anti-Corruption Office and now a pre-eminent professor of US constitutional law and criminal procedure has explained the criminal charges facing Donald Trump, suggesting further charges in other states are likely to be brought - potentially overshadowing the NY indictment.
Professor Bennett Gershman (pictured), Visiting Scholar at the Centre for American Legal Studies at Birmingham City University, shared his expertise following the highly publicised indictment of the former president in New York on Tuesday 5 April.
The academic said: “Trump 's indictment contains 34 counts essentially for an isolated criminal act. This may seem unduly lengthy and redundant. However, the manner in which the 34 felonies were committed justifies the numerous charges.
“This is because the Grand Jury and the District Attorney centred almost exclusively on Trump 's criminal conduct - not just by paying hush money to a porn star and another woman to buy their silence, or falsifying business records, but by orchestrating a plot to undermine the democratic process by fraudulently influencing the 2016 election. ”
“In other words, by covering up his salacious sexual misconduct through multiple false records - financial, tax, emails, and texts - he succeeded in hiding truthful information, which if it were made public would have seriously damaged his quest for the presidency. ”
Professor Gershman added: “The judge did not issue an order directing Trump and his lawyers to avoid making inflammatory public statements, which might materially prejudice the legal proceedings and a fair trial.
“But I think Trump, who seemed unnerved and unsettled by today 's proceedings, is on notice that if he continues to make outrageous and inflammatory statements, he may be charged with further crimes, such as obstructing justice, as well as being held in contempt.
“The case is on a fast track for an early trial. But that may not happen. It may depend on what happens in Fulton County, Georgia, and Washington D.C., where Trump is being investigated for other and arguably much more serious crimes to influence the 2020 election.
“If he gets indicted in those jurisdictions - which is now more likely after New York has now taken the unprecedented step to indict an ex-president for the first time in American history - the New York indictment may take a back seat to accusations and trials on the other more serious charges. ”