It is the first time in US history that an ex-president has been charged with a crime. The security precautions in front of the courthouse in New York, where Donald Trump had to listen to the allegations against him, were correspondingly high.
There are 34 charges in total. The core are alleged hush money payments by Trump to the former porn actress Stormy Daniels. Trump is said to have falsified business documents in this context and possibly violated election laws. Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges. He speaks of a politically motivated process and a “witch hunt” on him.
“Of course that’s not true,” says Fabian Fellmann, who reports for the SZ from the USA. But some legal experts doubted how solid the indictment was. Nevertheless, in the end Trump could benefit above all from the great attention around him. Fellmann: “In the medium term, however, it could hurt him among independent voters and moderate Republicans.” Because the current process might not be the only one Trump will have to face in the coming months. According to Fellmann, there are six other preliminary investigations, some of which involve much more serious allegations.
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Moderation, editing: Tami Holderried
Editors: Vinzent-Vitus Leitgeb, Johannes Korsche
Production: Annika Bingger, Imanuel Pedersen
Additional audio via The Telegraph, CBS, LA Times.
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