Everything seemed to be known in advance about the case surrounding the hush money that former President Donald Trump paid to porn actress Stormy Daniels. Did we actually learn anything new from the first week of the trial?
“Yes, indeed. This week, an incredibly important witness was immediately discussed: David Pecker. He was the publisher of the magazine National Enquirer and clearly came from the Trump camp. He is now a key witness for the public prosecutor.
“Pecker would, at a meeting with Michael Cohen, fixer of Trump, have agreed to quell the stories circulating about Trump’s sexual escapades by paying hush money. In this way, they wanted to prevent the stories from damaging Trump’s election campaign. The latter is important because it gives the public prosecutor the opportunity to turn this into a criminal case.”
Trump was also reprimanded by the judge this week for firing at a juror. Is this a trial or a campaign event of the presidential candidate?
“He tries to portray himself as a victim of a public reckoning. When entering and leaving the courtroom, he always says the same thing: “This is a witch hunt.”
“On the other hand, commentators claim that Trump looks sheepishly in front of him from the dock while his sexual adventures are revealed. Knowing that these stories will become even more explicit once the women themselves testify, this could damage Trump’s image as a strong man. Maybe that also has an impact on the voter.”
That has often been said about things Trump has done or said, usually without major consequences. On the other hand, we cannot help but conclude that what is happening this week is unique.
“What is happening this week has no precedent. Indeed, Trump has already gone too far twenty times. Yet he not only survives, he often even benefits from it. Trump captures a deep and widespread dissatisfaction with the state of affairs, the state and the elite. His supporters see this lawsuit as the battle of David against Goliath, the latter being said to be ‘state repression’.
“On the other hand, Trump looks pathetic. The revelations about his private life could be damaging to non-followers. Together with Pecker’s testimony, this was a very bad week for Trump. According to some polls, a substantial portion of voters would turn away from Trump if he were convicted.”
On Thursday, the Supreme Court considered whether Trump can be prosecuted for things he did wrong as president. What is the consequence of that discussion?
“It seems likely that the Court will say that the President cannot be prosecuted for things he did in his official capacity while in office. But more importantly, there’s a good chance she’ll send some of the question back to a lower court, which should try to separate private matters from the things Trump did in public office. That seems to mean an endless adjustment of the case. This makes it unlikely that there will be a decision in any of the three other cases in which Trump is charged before the election.”
Does that make the Stormy Daniels case even more important?
“Yes, while legally speaking it is the weakest of all lawsuits against Trump. It is based on a theory that has never been tested. In fact, the prosecutor can only prove an accounting falsification. That is normally a civil matter. According to the prosecutor, this will become a criminal case because Trump falsified his accounting to benefit his own campaign. Specialists say that reasoning is legally weak.”
This week it was announced that the Arizona prosecutor is indicting eighteen former Trump employees. In normal times this would dominate the news, but now it passes almost silently.
“In fact, we are witnessing a power struggle. On one side is the rule of law, on the other the rebellion that culminated with the storming of the Capitol, but continues to smoulder. You can now see in everything that the rule of law is defending itself: many of the people who stormed the Capitol are now in prison. Other people involved are being sued – as in Arizona.
“It is also so incredibly turbulent in America right now. Meanwhile, university campuses are also on fire. In that climate, voters will have to go to the polls, with enormous repercussions for the world order.”
How so?
“The choice of a Republican or Democratic president certainly has global consequences. But no president has ever attempted a coup or refused to accept the election results. Yet he is being put forward as the top contender for re-election. Trump also makes no secret of the fact that all levels of government will have to do his bidding if he is re-elected. That would be a complete disruption checks and balances of the American system. There has not been a greater threat to the American state since the Civil War.”
