Rory Brouillard | Staff Writer
March 23, 2023
Since his presidency began, Donald Trump has been accused of criminal activity multiple times. However, every time it seems to catch up to him, he always manages to come out clean. But, just like baseball, three strikes and you’re out.
The first impeachment of Trump happened during his presidency in Dec. 2019, becoming the third president to be impeached.
The House of Representatives adopted two articles of impeachment for both abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. These followed an investigation into foreign interference in Trump’s 2020 re-election campaign. He was then found telling officials to ignore subpoenas for testimony.
Despite the overwhelming evidence against Trump, he was acquitted by the Senate in Feb. 2020.
On Jan. 13, 2021, Trump became the first president to be impeached twice. This was following the attack on the United States Capitol building on Jan. 6. The House introduced an article of impeachment for “incitement of insurrection.” However, he was also acquitted of the charges by the Senate.
Trump has seemed to slip through the fingers of the law and avoid conviction twice, but can he do it a third time?
Evidence of the former president paying off adult film star, Stormy Daniels, during the 2016 election has been presented in front of a grand jury. The panel will then decide if there is enough to formally charge Trump.
Now the question is whether there is enough for conviction. Paying someone for a non-disclosure agreement is not illegal, but with the timing of the election coming up, it could be in violation of a fair campaign. However, the charges that the grand jury are considering remain unknown to the public.
The defense remains convinced they can escape indictment, although many see this as unlikely. Trump himself has stated that he is preparing for an arrest and calls for protests.
I believe that Trump’s actions have finally caught up to him and an arrest has been waiting for him since before his election. He has abused his money, power and people around him to get what he wants.
Although the information of an affair may not have changed the outcome of the election, there should be transparency from any candidate. Obviously, it was important enough that Daniels needed to be paid off. Daniels says she accepted the bribe because she was worried for herself and her family.
Daniels stated in a 60 Minutes interview that Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, approached her saying, “‘That’s a beautiful little girl. It’d be a shame if something happened to her mom.”
News of this threat would cause more harm to his campaign than anything.
The New York Times said that if he is charged, Trump will most likely be released. If the case makes it to trial, that will fall right in the middle of Trump’s reelection campaign.
It appears that Trump’s actions are finally catching up to him, but will it stick? Protests have already begun following Trump’s call over the weekend. He still has supporters staying by his side.
Does this mean Trump is slowly losing support or are they hiding out of fear? What does this mean for his campaign?
This is almost impossible to tell. The Department of Justice reports that over 1,000 people have been arrested following the storming of the Capitol, and more are worried of the consequences of further push against the government.
However, why weren’t people afraid during the insurrection? This shows that Trump may be losing his grasp over the Republican party. He isn’t able to control his supporters into doing his dirty work any further.
Trump’s supporters have faced the consequences, but he has faced very little himself. Why are his supporters taking the fall every time Trump is in trouble? With some refusal to protest, there seem to be more people who are seeing through Trump’s schemes and manipulations.
Trump has spent years manipulating the government and people through threats, foreign influence, tax fraud and his radical campaigns. So far, he has shown no remorse and continues to abuse his power and money. When will his grasp on the corrupt people in power come to an end?
Now is the time for his corruption, manipulation, crimes, and abuse of power to finally be put to an end.