WASHINGTON, D.C. – We are waiting to see if former President Donald Trump will be criminally indicted over alleged hush-money payments made on his behalf during the 2016 presidential campaign. If a Manhattan grand jury indicts the former president, it would be an unprecedented moment in American history and the first criminal case against a former US president.
Some fencing was placed around the US Capitol building on in anticipation of protests about former President Donald Trump’s potential criminal indictment. While it was quiet in the nation’s capital and outside of the Manhattan district attorney’s office, some people stood outside of his Florida home with pro-Trump flags to show support for the former president.
“So this is uncharted territory, and we don’t know what this is going to be like,” said Todd belt, the George Washington university director of political management. Belt said no former president has ever been indicted.
“I think its going to rally more support behind president Trump as usually happens whenever president Trump is in trouble that means he’s back on the agenda and people are paying attention to him and his followers rally behind him,” said Belt.
Including a good portion of republican leaders. Some are showing their support for Trump, like former Vice President Mike Pence. He called the idea of indicting a former president deeply troubling and Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R- CA) slammed the Manhattan district attorney in defense of Trump. Belt said with Trump most likely going to get the republican nomination for the presidential election next year, an indictment could lead to even more political division within the country.
“When it becomes about Trump, the two sides really go to their opposing corners and that makes it difficult for anybody to promote compromise or to broker deals or to do the regular functioning of government when all we hear about politics is just whatever Donald Trump’s latest problems are,” said Belt.
