Nobody Is Above The Law, A NY Judge Orders Trump’s Arrest!

by Elpidio R. Estioko

Finally, somebody with guts and respect for the law indicted former U.S. President Donald Trump and ordered his appearance in a criminal court in Manhattan, New York.

After the Grand Jury indicted the former president for a probable cause about money paid to adult film star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election, Judge Alvin Bragg issued an arrest warrant for Trump to appear in his court.

We are witnessing history in the making as Trump entered a Manhattan courtroom, was fingerprinted, and waited to be arraigned. He waved when he arrived at the Manhattan Criminal Court on April 4 in New York, New York. He was arraigned during his first court appearance.

With the indictment, Trump became the first former U.S. president in history to be charged with a criminal offense who is actively campaigning for another term in the White House.

Trump was indicted by the Grand Jury of New York for paying hash money to silence Stormy Daniels who allegedly had a sexual relationship with him before the 2020 presidential elections.

The indictment has generated mixed emotions among Republicans, Democrats and ordinary Americans.

My friends said, “It’s high time somebody got the nerve…” While others say, “It’s unfair and not properly done for a former president.”

Well, whatever the current generated by the latest court decision, it will surely follow its course and we just hope it will be properly conducted under the rule of law.

Just like any other person charged criminally, the process of the court proceedings was in place: while not handcuffed, he was fingerprinted and faced the judge and the jury who will be prosecuting him for the offenses charged.

As expected, Donald Trump pleaded “Not Guilty” to 34 felony counts as details of the indictment were unsealed. He sat at the defense table with his defense team after pleading not guilty to falsifying business records, multiple outlets report, following an investigation into an alleged hush money payment he made to adult film star Stormy Daniels while he was a presidential candidate in 2016.

The 34 counts of criminal charges stemmed from eight checks issued by him falsifying business records and alleged money payments to Daniels to silence her as it may affect his 2016 presidential campaign. Previous prosecutors maintain that the charges against him are strong, so As I See It, his future in the criminal court will likely be stormy too!

While Trump and his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen initially denied the claims of an affair, Cohen later admitted that there was a payment made to the porn star in the amount of $130,000. As told to The New York Times, he labeled the payment as “a private transaction,” paid out of his own pocket in 2016, but he said Trump had not reimbursed him although he has since admitted he authorized the payment.

That was a payment to allegedlysilence Daniels from talking, yet…Trump claimed there were no sexual encounters that transpired.

Okay, so Trump will go through the process, just like any other person criminally charged, but what will happen next?

Now that Trump has pleaded not guilty, the arraignment starts and the judge, together with the grand jury, will prosecute the case.

That same day, he flew back to his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida and addressed his supporters saying the charges were politically motivated and should be dismissed. He even started attacking the judge’s family and calling Judge Alvin Bragg a “criminal.”

The judge didn’t issue a gag order but warned Trump not to talk about the merits of the case in public, but Trump ignored this and even resorted to character assassination by calling the judge “criminal” and attacking his family despite the court’s warning.

What will happen next? Well, As I See It, it will be a long process with Trump calling the cases to be dismissed and his team of lawyers filing motions to delay the trial. It was theorized that it may last for months, even years, as the rule of law has to be in effect giving both sides the rights they deserve.

Okay, if this is the case, what are possible scenarios that will happen while the case is being heard?

Trump, despite the charges, will continue to campaign for his second term of office by 2024… the constitution allows that to happen, even if he will be in jail. He is seeking the party endorsement but has to contend with many GOP presidential contenders wanting also to be president.

While the biggest rival is in Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who just announced formally his candidacy, about 12 more party mates are trying to oppose him. I think the more GOP candidates, the better chances for Trump to be officially endorsed.

He needs only about 25% to 35% support from GOP to be able to be nominated as the party standard bearer. So, most likely, he will be the GOP standard bearer.

If he does not get the party nomination, I think he will still run for president as an independent candidate. Knowing him, he will do everything to bolster his ego and he thinks he will be able to do it because he thrives on controversies. He did it before, so he thinks he can do it again.

The worst scenario is for him to withdraw from the presidency and become a kingmaker. With the millions of dollars in his campaign chest mostly generated from the fund-raising efforts due to his arraignment, he will be able to catapult a candidate to the presidency of his choice.

Will his party make him the standard bearer and a possible repeat of Biden vs Trump for the 2024 presidency?

If Trump becomes the GOP standard bearer, fellow Americans, will you support him when you go to the polls in 2024?

ELPIDIO R. ESTIOKO was a veteran journalist in the Philippines and a multi-awarded journalist here in the US. For feedbacks, comments… please email the author at estiokoelpidio@gmail.com.