President Trump Indicted on 34 charges

USD students and faculty react to the first indictment of a U.S. President

Kylie Durham / Asst. News Editor / The USD Vista

Ronald Saenz / Contributor / The USD Vista

For the first time in history, an ex-president has been indicted. On March 30, 2023, Donald Trump was indicted for 34 felony charges. Prosecutors are taking a closer look into Trump’s business practices as all the charges accuse Trump of falsifying business documents.

This indictment, otherwise known as a formal charge of a serious crime, resulted from a five-year, ongoing investigation carried out by the Manhattan District Attorney. The legal process following this indictment will occur over the next couple of years. A possible trial in 2024 aligns with the next U.S. Presidential campaign cycle, for which Trump has already announced his candidacy.

According to an article from the New York Times, “Mr. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, all of them focused on his involvement in the payment of hush money to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with him.”

Falsifying business records is considered a misdemeanor, but if the prosecution, led by New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg, can prove there was an “intent to defraud” or an intent to cover up an additional crime by falsifying the records, then Trump can be prosecuted for a felony. Prosecutors do not have to charge Trump with the secondary crime or even prove he committed it to convict him of a felony; they only need to prove there was an intent to cover up. 

The news of the former President’s indictment did not come as a surprise to everyone. Dr. Kira Tait of the Political Science and International Relations departments shared her opinion on the recent matters.

“I am not surprised. Presidents are not above the law. It is a mistake to think that they are. While there are some legal protections that they enjoy while in office, those protections are not absolute and do not continue to shield them once they leave office. There is some debate about whether all of the charges are valid and whether the state has a strong enough casse. I believe that is up to the state prosecutors and the judge to decide,” Tait said.

It is not only the faculty and staff at USD that are shocked by the news, but students too. USD sophomore Anthony Sharkey offered his thoughts regarding President Trump’s history in office.

“Besides the hush money, it sounds fishy to me. There is definitely something to be investigated there, pretty sure it is not just nothing,” Sharkey said. “It is interesting he has so many scandals like the impeachment that didn’t go through, and obviously there are more. So I don’t know if this is going to stick, or if this is another scandal that just happens in a slough of investigations that went nowhere.”

USD Senior Sophie Brands voiced her thoughts regarding the recent indictment in addition to the previous legal challenges President Trump has faced. 

“I feel like it was a long time coming. I feel as if the indictment they chose is not the route to be taken because he has done worse things. There are a few other cases, like the Georgia one where he allegedly messed with the election, and another with documents that he won’t turn over. I think those have a little more validity to them. Of course I think this is valid, and I think it did happen, I just think they have stronger cases.”

In the event that none of the charges stick, Trump will likely continue to run for president in 2024 according to an article from The New York Times. Sharkey is concerned that the indictment may actually boost Trump’s political career, if he is not convicted. 

 “If he gets out of the indictment, that can definitely boost his chances. He’s gonna say something like ‘they can’t lock me up,’” Sharkey explained. “I think that’s something about Trump that appeals to a lot of people — that it’s the government against him.”

Tait speculated on what the indictment may do for President Trump’s public image in regards to the 2024 presidential campaign.

“For his supporters, I believe the indictment will have the same effect as his election loss in 2020. It will galvanize them and strengthen their support of him,” Tait said. “According to CNN, his campaign has received a surge in donations since the indictment. For those who are not quite fond of him, assuming he is found guilty of the crimes he is accused of, they may feel a sense of justice and even some relief. How the trial progresses will determine what happens in 2024.”

USD Junior Kate Harmen shared her views regarding the former President’s future plans to run for office again, and how it might impact his public image.

“I am not convinced that legally this will affect much change just considering on the basis of what the charges are, and what the results will come out to be. It is hard to predict how this will affect his future campaign,” Harmen said. “I am honestly doubtful that this will have repercussions on his popularity and his following unfortunately. I think he still has cemented himself in a very popular place in society.”

Brands raised a couple questions on how this indictment can potentially impact the 2024 elections.

“I think there are two questions to ask about what this means for the 2024 election,” Brands said. “One is, are the Republicans going to put their foot down and say we are not going to have a President involved in an indictment? The second is, how is this going to affect his approval ratings? So far we can tell amongst Republicans it has gone up, but in the general public, I don’t think he stands much of a chance against the Democrat running because I do not think moderate voters or independent voters will stand for this, so I do think it will hurt him overall. I think it will be interesting to see if the Republican party will stand up against this behavior.” 

Overseeing the case is Judge Juan Merchan, who scheduled the next hearing in Trump’s case for Dec. 4 of this year, and prosecutors want the trial to begin in early January 2024. Trump’s team is vouching for a later trial date, sometime in spring of 2024. Judge Merchan has yet to set a trial date.