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Well, it finally happened.
After weeks of anticipation from one side and anxiety from the other, Donald Trump was arraigned today on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of four years in prison, but even the Donald’s most optimistic enemies don’t expect him to do any time.
Still, it’s a day that will live in infamy, as Trump is now the first US president to be indicted.
Of course, knowing the former president’s inimitable talent for spin, he’ll be boasting about this dubious achievement at one of his rallies by week’s end.
Until this afternoon, the indictment against Trump was under seal, so there was a lot we didn’t know about the charges against him.
Sources previously confirmed that Trump would be charged in connection with the hush money he allegedly paid to former adult film star Stormi Daniels during his 2016 presidential campaign.
We now know that that situation is just the tip of the bribery iceberg.
In addition to Daniels, Trump is accused of paying off a Playboy model named Karen McDougal, as well as a former doorman who claimed to have information about a secret, illegitimate child sired by Trump.
According to prosecutors, Trump “employed a ‘catch and kill’ scheme to identify, purchase, and bury negative information about him and boost his electoral prospects,” and “went to great lengths to hide this conduct, causing dozens of false entries in business records to conceal criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.”
Trump allegedly made all of the alleged payments through backchannels, with Daniels receiving her $130,000 from former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen.
(Cohan has already served prison time for his role in the scandal.)
McDougal and the doorman were paid $150,000 and $30,000 respectively by AMI, the published of the National Enquirer.
Trump, of course, has pled not guilty to all 34 counts against him.
Even among Dems there were doubts about the wisdom of indicting Trump, a move that’s likely to fire up his base ahead of primary season.
But there’s no denying that the case against 45 is strong, and the evidence solid.
Now, most senior citizens who have lived lives of extreme privilege would be very worried about the prospect — no matter how remote — of spending the remainder of their golden years behind bars.
But to his credit, Trump has an uncanny ability to turn negatives into positives.
According to a report from Rolling Stone, the ex-prez was offered the opportunity to surrender to the authorities remotely, but he opted for the spectacle of entering his plea in a Manhattan courthouse.
The outlet also claims that Trump’s team is already planning to use his mugshot for fundraising merchandise.
Trump’s business acumen has been called into question many, many times in the past, but we have to admit, that’s a t-shirt that people from both ends of the political spectrum would be willing to pay big bucks for.
We’ll have further updates on this bonkers developing story as new information becomes available.
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