UNPRECEDENTED INDICTMENT Mixed opinions about 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 indict- ment 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 Democrat- ic 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.” 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.

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