TRUMP. The former American president was briefly imprisoned in Atlanta prison on Thursday, August 24, 2023, after his indictment for attempting to manipulate the 2020 presidential election. Can these facts harm his candidacy for 2024?
[Mis à jour le 25 août 2023 à 9h15] Donald Trump’s fourth indictment ended with a release on bail, after a quick stint in prison. If the former American president has always escaped imprisonment during these previous court appearances, the Atlanta court did not do the billionaire this favor. The man, accused of having manipulated the result of the 2020 presidential election in the state of Georgia, had nevertheless protected himself from a passage, even brief, in prison by the prior payment of $ 200,000 bail .
A generous sum which finally allowed the candidate for the presidential election of 2024 to be released, his ego very damaged. On his own Truth Social network, Donald Trump also spoke of “a sad day in America” and denounced a “simulacrum of justice” against him. This court case is not yet over, since before the appearance the prosecutor Willis had indicated that she wanted to schedule a trial on March 4, which must be confirmed by a judge.
Prison case and “mugshot” for Donald Trump
After escaping jail time three times, Donald Trump finally made a stint in jail after appearing in court in Atlanta on Thursday, August 24, 2023 regarding his attempt to manipulate the 2020 presidential election. sheriff’s office consulted by CNN notifies the incarceration of the former tenant of the White House. But this time in prison is to be put into perspective, because the billionaire only spent a few moments behind bars in Atlanta prison after submitting to the “mugshot”, the taking of a face-to-face mugshot. and in profile.
Donald Trump was quickly released on bail since he had already paid the sum of 200,000 dollars to be released after his appearance in court. A short incarceration, therefore, but historic. The real estate magnate is the first former president of the United States to have been to prison and to have his mug shot.
Trump’s popularity in the polls marred by indictments?
While Donald Trump’s various indictments come just a few months before the 2024 presidential campaign, this even brief passage of the billionaire in prison is a new element that risks marking the electoral period. Still, these legal setbacks are not handicaps to the campaign of the former tenant of the White House, at least not in the eyes of all voters. The man even wins points with the Trumpists and more broadly with a fringe of Republican voters who see in these legal cases a disqualification operation and a “witch hunt”.
Sign that the candidacy of Donald Trump is doing well: the man has decided to shun the debates of the primary of the Republican party, convinced of being the legitimate candidate of the American right and comforted by his lead over his rivals. “An event shunned by Donald Trump, because according to him “the public knows who I am and what a successful presidency I exercised” he justified. Instead, he appeared in court in Atlanta in view of his appearance during the said debate, and it was he who caught the attention.
The polls also agree that Donald Trump is in the lead in the opinion of Republican voters with regard to all the studies published in 2023. His main competitor, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, could get 15% of the vote against more than 50% for Donald Trump. In the event of a duel with Joe Biden, the current President of the United States, the two scores of the candidates are estimated at 43%! The numerous indictments against Donald Trump therefore do not seem to do him a disservice in the presidential race of 202
If he sits at the top of the polls, can Donald Trump really hope to be a candidate for the 2024 presidential election with all the court cases that follow him? Nothing opposes his political ambitions in American law. L’Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution which provides for the eligibility requirements of the President of the United States does not mention the obligation to have a clean criminal record. The indictments, the holding of a trial and even a prison sentence do not therefore prevent Donald Trump from being a candidate for the election in 2024. He is however the first former head of state to present his after charges.
Among the proceedings against Donald Trump, only one could be an obstacle to his candidacy: the federal investigation into the January 6, 2021 insurrection better known as the assault on the Capitol in which the former head of state would have played a key role. To be responsible or to have participated in a rebellion against the United States is indeed a criterion of inequality in the American presidency. If after a parliamentary inquiry the committee of the House of Representatives retained four grounds for prosecution including “incitement to insurrection”, no charge has yet been brought against the billionaire. It would also be necessary for the investigation to lead to the indictment of Donald Trump and for the prosecutions and trials to take place before 2024 and the presidential election to call the Republican’s candidacy into question.
The case about Donald Trump’s role in the Capitol storming
Donald Trump is also charged for his role in the assault on the Capitol by his supporters in 2021. This is the third criminal charge against the Republican billionaire since his departure from the White House. The candidate in the presidential race for 2024 appeared on Thursday August 3 in federal court in Washington, an unprecedented event for a former American president. The main interested party denounced a “political persecution”. The next hearing in this case will be on August 28. What is the legal risk?
In the indictment published by AFP and many American media, it is stated that “Despite his defeat, the accused was determined to remain in power. Therefore, for more than two months after the election of 3 November 2020, the defendant spread lies that there had been fraud that altered the result and that he had in fact won”. The indictment then specifies that Donald Trump was well aware that the information he was relaying was lies, “but the defendant repeated them and disseminated them widely despite everything”.
Concretely, what does the ex-president risk? The charges against Donald Trump are punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison. For plotting against the state, the billionaire faces up to 5 years in prison. And it is for trying to obstruct American justice that he could be sentenced to 20 years in prison. The current favorite in the Republican primaries had announced, upon receipt of a letter from Jack Smith informing him of the ongoing investigation on July 18, that he would maintain his campaign even if he were to be condemned.
Donald Trump is also accused of having “orchestrated” several payments in order to cover up three cases deemed embarrassing in the months leading up to the 2016 presidential election. In detail, Donald Trump would have paid:
- $30,000 to a Trump Tower doorman who claimed to have information about a hidden child,
- $130,000 to porn actress Stormy Daniels to stop her from speaking out about an alleged extramarital affair,
- 150,000 dollars to a woman who claimed to be a former mistress
However, according to the indictment, the billionaire passed these expenses in the “legal fees” of Trump Tower, his company. However, according to justice, this could be similar to campaign expenses. He was therefore charged with “falsification of accounting documents”, detailed in 34 charges.