A bombshell for Donald Trump at the start of the Republican Party Convention: The criminal proceedings against him in the document scandal are to end. After surviving the assassination attempt on him, he is brimming with strength.
Shortly before his election as the Republican presidential candidate at the party convention in Milwaukee, Donald Trump scored a huge legal victory. In the affair surrounding the taking of secret government documents, the judge in charge, Aileen Cannon, dropped the criminal proceedings against Trump, as she announced shortly before the start of the party convention. The legal bombshell gives the ex-president further momentum in the election campaign.
After Trump survived an assassination attempt on Saturday with minor injuries, the 78-year-old is presenting himself more than ever as a strong leader for the country who cannot be stopped even by an armed attack. After the attack on his opponent, Democratic US President Joe Biden warned against further political violence and called on Americans to stick together. Trump also called for unity – and as a sign called for the other criminal proceedings against him to be dropped.
Judge discontinues proceedings in document affair
Trump has been charged in four different cases, the first former president in US history to be charged. He has already been convicted in one of them – for illegally making hush money payments to a porn star. This means he is running for president as a convicted criminal.
The other three cases have not yet gone to trial. It is surprising that the proceedings in the document affair in Miami, Florida, are now to be discontinued before the trial has even begun.
Judge Cannon justified the decision with doubts about the legality of the appointment of the special investigator in the case. Special investigator Jack Smith can appeal the decision. It is clear that the start of the trial will be postponed because the legal questions raised must first be clarified. This is entirely in line with Trump’s intentions, as he is trying to delay his legal problems by any means possible.
Trump’s house searched two years ago
Trump was indicted at the federal level in the document scandal last year. In this case, he is accused of illegally retaining highly sensitive information from his time as president (2017 to 2021).
In August 2022, the FBI searched Trump’s villa in Florida and seized several sets of documents classified as top secret. Trump is also accused of conspiring to obstruct the investigation: he is said to have tried to use employees to make material from surveillance cameras disappear and to have boxes of documents removed.
Trump pleaded not guilty when the charges were presented in Miami last year. His lawyers tried to stop the proceedings with various motions. Judge Cannon was once appointed by Trump. In recent months, critics have accused her of dragging out the proceedings and processing motions in slow motion.
Supreme Court judge provided template
A few weeks ago, Trump won another case before the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that Trump enjoys broad protection from prosecution for actions in his presidential office. The decision did not initially have anything to do directly with the dismissal of the proceedings in Miami, but it may have been indirectly related.
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a statement on the immunity ruling that special counsel Smith, who is also leading another case against Trump, was not legally appointed and therefore had no authority to prosecute Trump. In the Miami trial, Trump’s lawyers had made exactly this argument, which has been rejected by many experts.
Trump reacted with joy to Cannon’s decision. On his platform Truth Social, he wrote that since the country is now coming together after the assassination attempt on him, this should be “just the first step,” quickly followed by the dismissal of all proceedings against him.
Big coronation mass for Trump
The Republican is to be officially nominated as a candidate for the election at the beginning of November at the party convention in Milwaukee. This was expected to take place on Monday evening German time. The step is just a formality. Trump will not give his eagerly awaited speech there until Friday night in Germany.
The former president said in an interview with the tabloid newspaper “New York Post” that after the assassination attempt he had abandoned his originally planned “extremely harsh speech” against the government. Instead, he wanted to try to unite the country. “But I don’t know if it’s possible. People are very divided.”
The political mood in the USA has been heated for years. Threats against officials and democratic institutions in the country are increasing. The assassination attempt on Trump confirmed the darkest fears that violence could escalate in the current election campaign.
Fear of further violence after Trump assassination attempt
A man shot Trump on Saturday during a campaign speech in the state of Pennsylvania, wounding him in the ear. The perpetrator, a 20-year-old man from the region according to the FBI, was killed by security forces. The motive is still unclear. The question remains whether the event and Trump were adequately protected. US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas spoke of a security failure.
One bystander was killed in the attack on Trump and two others were seriously injured. In an interview with the New York Post, the former president expressed his gratitude that he himself survived the attack. “I should be dead,” he said. “By luck or by God – and many people say it was God’s work – I’m still here.”
Biden strongly condemned the attack and used it as an opportunity to address the nation directly from the Oval Office and call for unity. The political debate in the country has become very heated, the president said in a rare address from his office in the White House. “It’s time to cool it down,” he warned. “We all have a responsibility to do that.” Violence is never a solution. “We resolve our differences at the ballot box. That’s how we do it – at the ballot box, not with bullets.” However, it is questionable whether this wish will work and how long a possible moderation of the so far sometimes bitter rhetoric in the election campaign will last.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
