New York: The surrender of former US President Donald Trump on criminal charges on Tuesday was marked by confrontations between supporters and detractors outside a courthouse in Manhattan's downtown, as well as a now-regular cycle of epithets and outrage from lawmakers and Trump himself.
However, many Americans who claim to be following this case and other Trump investigations don't do so to score political points; rather, they do so in the hopes that the US democratic system will uphold the rule of law.
Carla Sambula, who claimed to have travelled an hour from her home in Rockland County, New York, to stand in line outside a Manhattan courthouse so she could see Trump being indicted, said, "It's what the system is for." Sambula, a Black woman, said, "It's hard to say if they'll get it right, especially as a woman of colour." She added that she hasn't voted since she did so for President Barack Obama in 2016.
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According to Gallup polling, Americans' trust in institutions like Congress, television news, and the presidency decreased last year to its lowest average level in more than 40 years. Only 14 percent of respondents, or half as many as a decade ago, say they have "quite a lot" or "a great deal" of confidence in the criminal justice system.
As the nation prepares for the 2024 presidential election, in which Trump is the leading Republican candidate, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's case is the first of several involving Trump. Tuesday, Trump entered a not-guilty plea.
The former White House ethics lawyer and University of Minnesota law professor Richard Painter said, "There's a lot of cynicism on the far right and the far left." The notion that "the law is not about law, it is just about politics and power" has become a unifying theme for both sides.
Since the New York case came to light, Trump has been more outspoken than ever about how he feels law enforcement has been unfairly singled out for political reasons.
Trump urged his fellow Republicans in Congress to reduce funding for the FBI and the US Justice Department on Wednesday. Many Republicans are worried that this case will demonstrate whether the government can be used as a weapon against politicians who are not in their favour.
According to a recent Reuters/Ispos poll, 36 percent of Democrats believe the investigations into the Republican candidate Trump are carried out for political reasons. Meanwhile, 50% of Americans, including 30% of Republicans, think Trump and some Republicans are trying to undermine the authority of the law in order to avoid being charged with anything.
However, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, Americans say they want accountability and that they oppose the idea of US presidents being exempt from all but the most serious criminal charges. Even more people concur that no one should be "above the law" in America.
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In the coming months, as multiple track investigations continue, the US judicial system will come under intense scrutiny.
The Manhattan case, which involves payments made to a porn star as hush money, may go on for a year or longer. The Department of Justice is looking into a related transfer of power issue as well as Trump's retention of classified documents. An investigation into Trump's attempt to reverse his Georgia 2020 election loss may result in an indictment this spring. This month may see the start of a civil trial related to Fox News' alleged defamation of Fox News regarding the 2020 election by voting machine manufacturer Dominion.
Making elected officials answerable is one of the fundamental tenants of democracy. Usually, we think of that in terms of politics, but when crimes have been committed, it also applies legally, according to Vince Warren, executive director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, a legal and advocacy organisation.
Warren stated that the recent flurry of legal actions against Trump "could signal a period where presidential actions are going forward subject to legal accountability."
The system "has routinely given people with power a free pass," according to Amir Ali, executive director of the MacArthur Justice Center, pointing to the disproportionate incarceration of minorities and people of lower income in the United States.
It has been demonstrably demonstrated that the criminal justice system can be oppressive, Ali said.
One of the five Black teenagers wrongfully convicted of rape in 1989, Yusef Salaam, demanded in a full-page newspaper ad that Trump had previously paid for, that Salaam and the other members of the "Central Park Five" receive the death penalty.
Salaam, a current Democratic candidate for the New York City Council, said in his advertisement that "I wish you no harm" despite the fact that you effectively called for my death and the deaths of four other innocent children 34 years ago. "Instead, I'm trusting the legal system to find the truth," the speaker said.
Adav Noti, vice president of the Campaign Legal Center, a non-partisan government watchdog, stated that the issues that will be addressed in several upcoming Trump-related cases "reflect the fragility of any democracy." He said that "people might try to stay in power illegally."
The subject of at least two ongoing investigations into Trump is whether he attempted to obstruct the legitimate succession of power to Democrat Joe Biden. Trump continues to claim falsely that there was widespread voter fraud that cost him the 2020 election.
According to Noti, the best way to stop election sabotage in the future is to send "high level people to prison for trying to overturn the 2020 election."
He asserted that there is a valid explanation for why Americans are cynical. However, "it needn't be this way."
