Commentary: Trump’s second coup attempt

But extreme caution is required – on both sides. Admittedly, in the past few days, there have actually been increasing indications that the ex-president is about to be indicted. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has brought key witnesses and evidence before a grand jury. But so far it is not clear if or when the jury will open the trial. The claim that he should be “arrested” next Tuesday came solely from Trump, a notorious liar.

In Trump’s eyes, the process is politically motivated

The reason why the ex-president trumpeted his impending impeachment with two dramatic posts in capital letters on his propaganda platform Truth Social on a Saturday morning is clear. “Trump’s people are planning an attack,” she said New York Times already described the strategy the day before: wild attack as a defense. The billionaire, who is running for the presidency again in 2024, wants to use all means to discredit the process as politically motivated: Joe Biden, the left-wing elites, the philanthropist George Soros and who-know-who have conspired to ensure that the advocate for real American patriots returns to the United States To prevent the White House – that’s their conspiracy legend. “The truth is, they’re not after me, they’re after you,” Republican cult leader Trump hammered into his disciples.

Possible proceedings against Trump only revolve around the payment of hush money

It is all the more important that the indictment really sits. After two failed impeachment proceedings, the judiciary only has one shot free to finally arrest the democracy-despiser Trump. And that’s exactly why the possible New York trial is no reason to celebrate, even for opponents of the ex-president. This is not about his massive attempts to falsify the election results, nor about the possible suppression of secret documents that are being investigated elsewhere. Prosecutor Bragg is solely responsible for Trump’s hush money payment to his ex-affair Stormy Daniels.

Behind this is a very ugly story that says a lot about Trump’s disgusting character, who now insults his ex-lover as “horse face”. However, only two points are legally relevant: With the secret payment of $130,000, which was intended to spare him embarrassing headlines during the election campaign, Trump could have violated the transparency rules of campaign financing. In addition, the amount was misrepresented as “lawyer’s fees”, which would be a criminal offense if used to cover up a crime.

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Trump is already mobilizing his sometimes violent mob again

Compared to the ex-president’s monstrous crimes, including the staging of an attempted coup, the possible charges sound rather small. And somehow one suspects that it will be difficult to prove them, especially since the main witness for the prosecution – Trump’s former personal lawyer – does not have a particularly good reputation. As overdue as it is for the courts to finally deal with the man, First Trump, then Johnson: Is the age of populists coming to an end? One must be that nervous in this specific case. Maybe District Attorney Bragg will pull another surprise witness out of his hat. Otherwise it is at least not certain whether the indictment will be a triumphant success or a gigantic non-starter.

So there’s no reason for hasty gloating – especially since Trump has long since launched a counteroffensive. His call “Protest! Take back our nation!” It is no coincidence that this sounds familiar: After the events of January 6, 2021, only naïve people or blinded ideologues can claim that the appeal is harmless. In fact, a former president is mobilizing the sometimes violent right-wing mob against his country’s democratic judiciary. An actually incomprehensible process – if there weren’t a precursor.

“Be there. It’s going to be wild!” Trump wrote before the Capitol storm. There are signs that fateful weeks are yet to come for America.