Dallas weighs in on former president Trump’s case
By Sylvia Dunnavant Hines
Texas Metro News Correspondent
Attorneys for former President Donald J. Trump say that the charges of falsifying business records levied against their client are unwarranted and he will be vindicated.
Meanwhile the nation has been in a frenzy regarding what the next steps will be and what the unsealed documents show, as well as how citizens will react.
The judge has warned against public comments that might incite violence and has set the next appearance date for December 2023.
Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg asked, why did Donald Trump continue to make false statements about a “catch and kill scheme” that could help Trump win the election, by keeping negative information about the presidential candidate from the public.
Trump, who is currently facing more than 34 counts related to business fraud, was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, making this the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges.
Appearing in court on Tuesday, Trump called the indictment a “witch hunt,” and the level of outrage regarding this case is still split along party lines.
“This is not about former President Trump,” said Allen West, former chairperson of the Texas Republican Party. “This is about destroying the rule of law in America thereby threatening the existence of our constitutional republic and representative democracy. The hypocrisy is blatant, and the intent is simple. Political opposition will not be tolerated.”
Although some Republicans are following Trump’s lead, referring to the charges being brought against him as “political prosecution,” many Democrats were waiting for the documents to be unsealed after Trump is arraigned, to get more clarity on this case.
The New York district attorney’s office has been investigating Trump’s alleged role in a hush money payment scheme involving adult film star Stormy Daniels that dates back to the 2016 presidential election.
“Many Americans are glad to see Trump be indicted. And there may still be more cases brought against him that go to his subversion of democracy and fair elections,” said Jeff Dalton, a Dallas-based Democratic strategist. “We will have to wait and see what the political impact of these events will be. This is unprecedented, just like so much else about the Trump story.”
For those that are in the legal system, political affiliations are not enough to ignore the facts of this case.
Russell Wilson, a criminal defense attorney in Dallas called the decision to move forward with the case an important step for the criminal justice system.
“This just means everyone including the president and former presidents can be held accountable for the law if they are accused of violating a law.”
According to Wilson, the charges are conduct-based, and the investigation would be the same if it were a Republican or Democrat who engaged in similar conduct.
Even this indictment has not been enough to diminish Trump’s faithful followers. According to reports, his 2024 Presidential campaign has earned an additional $7 million since he became the first former president to be charged with a crime.
Taft Thompson, a member of the Dallas County Republican Party, said there are two stories to every story.
“From the grassroots level, we are going to embolden because of the indictment,” he said. “This case is going to mobilize people to support former President Trump even more. We already think he is innocent regarding this witch hunt.
“Everything that he has done has been under the microscope and been criticized. From the Russian Gate to you name it, then stealing the election. He will be redeemed from this in the eyes of people in the Republican party. However, you still have those who are not Trump supporters who are members of the Republican party. This is just one of tactics being used to break him down.”
Although the indictment is unprecedented, many are still pondering the issue of whether a former president is protected from such charges.
Eric Puente, a Dallas attorney, who does not have affiliation with either party.
“I am not sure if there has ever been any unwritten rule that a prosecutor could not indict a former or sitting president,” he said. “In our lifetime there has not been a former president that has been accused and had evidence that has been presented to a grand jury that he has broken the law. In my mind, anyone, even a former or sitting president, still must be held accountable and should be subject to the criminal laws of our country.
“In this case a grand jury in New York was presented with enough evidence that they believed that there was probable cause to indict former President Trump. I believe a former president should be subject to the laws just as any other citizen would be,”
Due to the outrage of Trump’s loyal supporters, law enforcement officials from several agencies have been preparing for possible protests.
“I think that there are many people on the left that are excited about this,” said Nathan Davis, former Republican candidate for United States Representative -District 32. “But this is going to be used against them in ways that they cannot see. It will be wheeled back on them many times more. This is unprecedented in US politics and there is a reason why.
“This issue is not going to be left alone with no response. The response is coming, and it is going to be ruthless.”
