As news of the indictment of former President Donald Trump sinks in and the taboo of not indicting the nation’s current or former commander-in-chief has been broken, other more serious charges against Trump take on new meaning. Whether Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has a case remains to be seen; however, the grand jury’s willingness to move forward against the former president could provide the tacit permission for which other authorities gearing up to prosecute Trump were waiting.
The New York Times noted this indictment could “make it less daunting for prosecutors in Georgia and Washington to follow suit.” In this respect, they make a good point. Until now, authorities have been reluctant to “go first,” but now that the proverbial Rubicon has been crossed, they may sense an opening to pile on. There are at least two other investigations that could prove more difficult for attorneys representing Mr. Trump.
Other Trump Indictments Loom Large
Things are in a holding pattern in Georgia, where Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has been working to build a case against Mr. Trump for alleged election interference. Experts maintain Ms. Willis is seeking to nail Trump on election fraud conspiracy.
But her efforts hit a bump in the road when the grand Jury forewoman went public with details of the proceedings. Mr. Trump’s lawyers naturally pounced on the opportunity and filed a motion to quash the Georgia report and stave off any charges that might be forthcoming. Supervising Judge Robert McBurney is giving the prosecution until May 1 to respond to the motions. Former Asst. U.S. Attorney, author, and popular commentator Andrew McCarthy maintains these efforts targeting Mr. Trump are relatively thin legal gruel and are likely to be unsuccessful.
Alvin Bragg Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
In the last but certainly not least category, it should not be forgotten that special prosecutor Jack Smith is hard at work in Washington. Smith is not one to be trifled with, having previously served as the leading man in several high-profile cases, including the corruption trial against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, whose conviction was eventually overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
In this instance, Attorney General Merrick Garland summoned Smith to investigate Mr. Trump regarding the classified documents taken from Mar-a-Lago as well as the former president’s role in the events that took place on Jan. 6. The former investigation lost a bit of its luster after classified documents were discovered at two locations linked to current President Joe Biden – including the garage of his Wilmington, DE, home. But the latter case regarding Jan. 6 appears to be the big kahuna, with Smith issuing subpoenas to Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner, Trump’s former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, and others. Former U.S. attorney and legal analyst Harry Litman claimed on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that forcing Mr. Trump’s inner circle to come before a grand jury shows that Smith is “not messing around.”
Indeed, as the McDonnell case proved, Smith is alarmingly good at what he does. While he’s unlikely to need permission to indict, the move by New York’s Alvin Bragg has eliminated the stigma of taking such legal action against a former U.S. president. When put together, these cases will surely serve to overwhelm and distract Mr. Trump while he tries to mount a comeback for a second White House term.
