Whatever his apologists say, Donald Trump’s arguments in his multiple trials simply do not hold water.
The ex-president has lost two civil cases which will cost him more than half a billion dollars if the judgments are upheld on appeal. He also faces a slew of criminal charges in four trials.
If the trials end up being held and he is found guilty, it will not be because he is the victim of partisan justice, but because the strength of the evidence against him is matched only by the weakness of his defense.
Trivial matters?
This is how certain analysts who cloak themselves in the cloak of neutrality sometimes present the three trials against Trump in New York State.
These matters are far from trivial. In the lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, Trump was found liable for sexual assault and defamation by a jury and the judge emphasized that his actions constituted rape. It’s not trivial.
As for financial fraud, Trump and his apologists claim that the financial embezzlement which will earn him hundreds of millions of dollars in penalties did not cause any victims. It’s wrong. The victims are the borrowers who obtain less favorable terms by complying with the law (those whom Trump would call the “suckers) and the risk premium borne by everyone if fraud is tolerated. The next time you get a speeding ticket, try pleading “victimless fault” to see.
The matter of the amount paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels to buy her silence during the election period (amount disguised as legal costs) is not trivial either. The electoral impact in 2016 was real and the deduction of expenses passed part of the bill to taxpayers.
Presidential immunity?
Richard Nixon tried to defend his Watergate crimes by telling David Frost that “if the president does it, it’s not illegal.” For Donald Trump, this myth has become a mantra.
In the Mar-a-Lago stolen documents affair, Trump falsely invokes the “Presidential Records Act,” which does not apply to most of the documents involved. In this trial, it is only the bias of an incompetent judge and the interminable length of the proceedings that will save Trump. The facts and the law are against him.
In Washington’s trial for attempted hijacking of democracy, Trump delays proceedings by pleading absolute presidential immunity. It doesn’t hold up. He claims it would be impossible for a president to function without this immunity. Yet this is what every president since 1789 has done.
Trump’s lawyers are making the Constitution say that a president cannot be prosecuted unless he is first impeached by the Senate. It’s wrong. In fact, during his second impeachment trial, Trump’s lawyer argued exactly the opposite, alleging that if Trump was not impeached, he could be tried in criminal court.
The arguments in Trump’s defense may convince his supporters and apologists, but if one sticks to the facts and the law, they are as valuable as a degree from Trump University.