The Inside Story: Trump Faces Federal Charges
Anchor: Katherine Gypson
Episode 96 – June 15, 2023
Show Open:
Unidentified Narrator:
This week on the Inside Story... Trump Faces Federal Charges.
It's the United States government versus the country's 45th president
Our reporters take you to the courthouse where the former president was arraigned.
What's in the indictment?
And what does this mean for his current campaign for the White House?
Now... The Inside Story... Trump Faces Federal Charges
The Inside Story:
KATHERINE GYPSON, VOA Congressional Correspondent:
Welcome to The Inside Story, I’m Katherine Gypson in Washington.
History is being made in the United States as a searing 37 count indictment against former President Donald Trump was unsealed late last week, and this week Trump faced a judge in a Miami courtroom and was placed under arrest, awaiting trial.
All this as the former President Trump continues to declare his innocence, bash the process as a witch-hunt, and continues his runs for a second term as U.S. President.
It’s a lot to get through, we’ll try to get to it all, today on The Inside Story.
It is jarring to think of a President of the United States being put under arrest in a courtroom in Miami.
And as we’ve noted it is hard to overstate the historic nature of Tuesday’s events.
VOA White House Correspondent Patsy Widakuswara reports on how the day went down in Miami.
PATSY WIDAKUSWARA, VOA White House Correspondent:
A defiant Donald Trump made a stop at a popular Cuban restaurant in Miami to greet supporters following his arraignment where he pleaded “not guilty” Tuesday.
The first former U.S. president to face federal charges spoke later from his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
Donald Trump, Former President:
Today we witnessed the most evil and heinous abuse of power in the history of our country. Very sad thing to watch - a corrupt sitting president had his top political opponent arrested on fake and fabricated charges.
PATSY WIDAKUSWARA:
Hundreds of supporters and protesters were outside the Miami court, where Trump was arraigned on 37 felony counts including willfully retaining more than 100 classified documents, some related to U.S. nuclear and defense plans, and conspiring to obstruct justice. The FBI recovered the documents …from his Florida home Mar-a-Lago last August.
Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to lead the federal investigation.
Jack Smith, Special Counsel:
Our nation's commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world. We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.
PATSY WIDAKUSWARA:
Smith said he's seeking a "speedy trial,” but it may be months before it begins.
Trump is running again for president in 2024 and is the Republican frontrunner.
An Ipsos-ABC News poll shows that while Americans view the new charges as more serious than those brought in late March by a Manhattan grand jury over hush money allegedly paid to adult movie star Stormy Daniels before the 2016 election, the public remains split on whether Trump should be charged with a crime.
Chris Jackson, Ipsos Spokesperson:
I don't think that Trump’s position in the lead of Republican primaries is likely to be shook by any of this. But I do think these potentially have an impact, if he does end up being the nominee, on his ability to win the general election, by damaging his standing with Independents.
PATSY WIDAKUSWARA:
47 percent of Americans believe the charges are politically motivated, according to the same Ipsos poll.
Gregg Donovan, Trump Supporter:
To me I think this is a travesty. It’s surreal.
PATSY WIDAKUSWARA:
If proven guilty, Trump could face prison time.
Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News, Washington.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
Prior to last Tuesday’s arraignment, I spoke with VOA’s Celia Mendoza who was in Miami about the atmosphere outside the courthouse.
CELIA MENDOZA, VOA Correspondent:
Katherine, we have seen how the temperature is rising not only here in Miami, but outside the courtroom where hundreds of people have shown up since 6am. We have seen pro Trump protesters as well as those that are against the former president. But definitely the larger amount of the people behind me are people that are supporting Donald Trump.
They have flags, they have hats, they have messages supporting the former president they are chanting USA USA and we also have seen how they have a little bit of interaction with those that are not with the former president. But nothing has turned violent.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
We know the city of Miami prepared for as many as 50,000 pro Trump protesters to show up today are those the numbers that you're seeing?
CELIA MENDOZA:
We're seeing hundreds it could be thousands, but so far, we are certain that hundreds of people are around the courtroom, many of them with a Trump flags messages in favor of him. But like I said some of them are against the former President just a less amount of people so he will be able to say bye to them as he leaves it's not expected that he will walk.
He will mobilize himself in the car as he did on Monday when he arrived to his golf club in El Doral here in Southern Florida. The former president will not have a speech here in Miami he'll be returning to New Jersey where he has planned and a speech as well as an event for his campaign.
Something that that it is important to highlight as the difference in the scene between what we are seeing here in Miami with a large amount of people with a large amount of access that they have to what we saw in New York when he was arraigned and local charges in that district.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
All right. And of course along with those demonstrators outside the courthouse, there was also an enormous amount of media attention and interest set the scene for us there.
CELIA MENDOZA:
Katherine it is a large amount of media for the past 48 hours. They have taken this area tents have been set up lights and tripods are all over and they're trying to follow every step of what's happening in the scene.
Not only the protesters but the move and the visits of officials like the mayor of Miami who came here, the Chief of Police Manuel Morales, who came after a brief incident in which a television was removed because they had anti media messages and a cause high alert by authorities. He actually mentioned that somebody tried to be funny, and that's what created that situation.
Overall. They're happy of what they have seen a peaceful protest with interaction between those against and for the former president.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
Right. Celia, thank you so much for setting the scene for us outside that courthouse in Miami. we appreciate it.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
VOA’s chief national correspondent Steve Herman was our White House bureau chief during the administration of Donald Trump and extensively interacted with the 45th president during those four years.
He has this reflection on the significance of Trump, seeking the Republican Party nomination for a third consecutive time while facing charges of violating the Espionage Act, obstruction and conspiracy.
STEVE HERMAN, VOA National Correspondent:
When he was president, Trump’s critics accused him of lurching towards authoritarianism and trying to use his political office to stay in power after he lost his bid for reelection.
Trump, in his trademark approach to politics, is now alleging just such an abuse of office, accusing the Democratic administration of President Joe Biden of weaponizing the Justice Department in “warfare for the law.”
During his four years in office, in which he was impeached twice by the House but not convicted in the Senate, Trump repeatedly stated he was the target of witch hunts and that he never did anything wrong. There was what he termed the “perfect phone call” with the Ukrainian president in which he repeatedly pressed Voldymyr Zelenskyy to investigate Biden in a suggested quid pro quo. That led to the first impeachment.
Then there was the ignominious day at the U.S. Capitol when Trump supporters stormed the symbol of American democracy after their president incited them to “fight like hell” or “you're not going to have a country anymore.”
That led to Trump’s second impeachment in the waning days of his presidency.
A signature line of his political rallies was: “We will never give in, we will never give up, and we will never, ever back down.”
Legal observers have little doubt Trump will fight these federal charges every step of the way and is unlikely to plea bargain, as that would be tantamount to admitting guilt to something, not a Trump trait.
Political observers do not expect the indictment to hurt Trump much with his core supporters. But overall, before news of these charges, six in 10 Americans surveyed told pollsters Trump should not be president again.
Only once has an American president, out of office, returned to the White House. That was Grover Cleveland after defeating the incumbent president, Benjamin Harrison, in 1892.
Only once, in 1920, has a relevant political party nominated a convicted felon. That was the Socialist Party’s Eugene V. Debs imprisoned for speaking against the first World War.
Biden talks often of healing and bridging the deepest political divide since the U.S. Civil War. A devout Catholic of Irish ancestry, he takes solace in the words of popes who call for forgiveness and in the lines of his favorite poet, Seamus Heaney, who wrote of changing long-set patterns when “justice can rise up and hope and history rhyme, so hope for a great sea-change on the far side of revenge.”
Steve Herman, VOA News, Washington
KATHERINE GYPSON:
When the indictment against the President was unsealed on Friday, special counsel Jack Smith held a press availability to outline the process that he went through and lay out the charges.
In the short statement, which we’ll show you in it’s entirely, he made the point that President Trump, like any American charged with a crime, is innocent until proven guilty.
Jack Smith, Special Counsel:
Today, an indictment was unsealed. Charging Donald J. Trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.
This indictment was voted by grand jury and citizens in the Southern District of Florida. And I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged. The men and women of the United States intelligence community in our Armed Forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people.
Our laws that protect National Defense Information are critical the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced violations of those laws put our country at risk. adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice and our nation's commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world.
We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone applying those laws, collecting facts, that's what determines the outcome of an investigation. Nothing more. Nothing less.
The prosecutors in my office are among the most talented and experienced in the Department of Justice. They have investigated this case, hewing to the highest ethical standards, and they will continue to do so as this case proceeds. It's very important for me to note that the defendants in this case must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. To that end, my office will seek a speedy trial in this matter, consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused. We very much look forward to presenting our case. To a jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida.
In conclusion, I would like to thank the dedicated public servants of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with whom my office is conducting this investigation and who worked tirelessly every day upholding the rule of law in our country. I'm deeply proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. Thank you very much.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
The Trump indictment is information heavy, despite having been written in relatively simple English so that the average reader could understand.
Still, there are legal insights to flesh out.
VOA’s Arash Arabasadi spoke with Howard University School of Law Professor, Josephine Ross, to go inside the details.
Josephine Ross, Professor of Law, Howard University:
In general, when you look at this case, and you read the indictment, which I did, it's a 49 page indictment. It's very well laid out. It looks like the government has everything they need to prove the case. They've got the documents they've got how long they were stored.
They've got pictures of where they were stored, the bathroom, the chandelier hanging from the from the bathroom and all that the documents stored in there, the stage where the documents were moved to. They've got witnesses apparently that were willing to come forward and talk about how things were your got Donald Trump's fingerprints, not literally his fingerprints but he is shown connected with these documents.
If this was the normal defendant, the normal case, this would be easy. Perhaps they would be talking about a plea deal or something along those lines.
And we know with indictments that we're not seeing everything the government doesn't have to show its hand is giving us a very good sense here in terms of how this is written to show how air tight their case is. And so you look at that and think that this is going to be a cakewalk and the government, but it probably will not be.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
After the historic series of events we’ve seen in this episode, many questions still remain.
Like, what does this mean for the United States’ two major political parties?
And how will all of this affect the upcoming 2024 presidential election?
VOA’s Arash Arabasadi spoke with Politics Bureau Chief and Senior Political Columnist at Politico, Jonathan Martin, to understand.
ARASH ARABASADI, VOA Correspondent:
The arraignment of Donald Trump is just the beginning of a long legal process. The US Government charged Trump with 37 criminal counts – felonies punishable by decades in prison – alleging the former president stashed sensitive documents, refused to return them, and conspired to hide evidence.
Jonathan Martin, Senior Political Columnist, Politico:
There’s never been a former president in this country – for that matter, a current president – who faced federal criminal charges and the prospect of serving in prison. That’s breathtaking to say out loud, because it just hasn’t happened here.
ARASH ARABASADI:
Jonathan Martin is Senior Political Columnist at Politico. He also co-authored the book, This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for American Democracy. He says both of the country’s two major political parties will try to spin Trump’s federal indictment in their favor.
Jonathan Martin, Senior Political Columnist, Politico:
If Donald Trump rolls to this nomination again, because then there’s no doubt that he owns the Republican Party lock, stock, and barrel. So I think that’s a significant moment. Obviously for the country (and) for the world, but I think especially for Republican leaders, because then it’s hard to live in denial any longer that your party is not a sort of wholly owned subsidiary of Donald J. Trump.
ARASH ARABASADI:
Republicans have so far adopted Trump’s talking point of a weaponized Justice Department out to get him under the executive leadership of President Joe Biden. But Martin says Democrats will likely step aside and let the legal process play out.
Jonathan Martin, Senior Political Columnist, Politico:
If you’re a Democrat, never get in the way of your opponent as he’s destroying himself. You don’t want to do anything to distract or interrupt from that. And if you’re the Biden Administration, and you’re already facing scrutiny and attacks and speculation that you are secretly behind these indictments and you’re doing this for political reasons, the last thing you want to do is toss more gas on that fire. And all you want to do is say, ‘No comment.’
ARASH ARABASADI:
But Martin also says even this is an unprecedented situation and history doesn’t really give the Biden White House any real clues regarging how to respond.
Jonathan Martin, Senior Political Columnist, Politico:
President Nixon resigned to avoid being impeached. Most of his inner circle was convicted of crimes. A lot of them did prison time. And it’s widely believed by historians that Nixon also would have faced all sorts of federal charges had Ford not issued that pardon. But he did. And so, we haven’t had a scenario where a former president is facing federal charges like we do today.
ARASH ARABASADI:
While this is the first federal indictment of a former president, Martin says it’s not entirely an outlier.
When you’re talking about Nixon and Ford, you’re talking about Watergate. How is this, if at all, any similarity or how is it different?
Jonathan Martin, Senior Political Columnist, Politico:
Well, the similarities are it’s the only thing remotely close to this kind of a scenario where you had a president who is allegedly engaged in law breaking and frankly betraying his oath and facing the long arm of the law because of it. Obviously, the facts are different. In this case, Trump’s the former president. Nixon was obviously still president during Watergate. So there are differences, too. But just in terms of criminality, and allegations thereof. And what do we do? In a country where we say no one is above the law when apparently the person breaking the law was the Commander in Chief, or former Commander in Chief?”
ARASH ARABASADI:
In this country we have a looming-large election in less than a year-and-a-half’s time…
Jonathan Martin, Senior Political Columnist, Politico:
And that’s what makes this even more extraordinary. He’s not just a former president, he also happens to be the frontrunner for one of our two major parties for the next election, which is yes, next year, and he’s trying to return to office.
We’re obviously going to have a trial in Florida. When is that trial taking place? Will Trump try to buy time and file motions and delay any trial until after the election in the Fall of 2024? And if that is successful, and he is the nominee, and he does win the presidency, will he then pardon himself? And speaking of uncharted waters, boy, what would that look like?
ARASH ARABASADI:
Still, and regardless of what comes from this indictment, Martin says Trump changed the landscape of American politics.
Jonathan Martin, Senior Political Columnist, Politico:
There’s still a lot of people who are happily apathetic and they’re going on with their lives, and their lives haven’t appreciably changed. In fact, there’s millions of those people. But, at least in modern times, we’re much closer to having a political fixation than we’ve ever had. And it does worry me about where we land if this thing does spiral and the polarization only gets worse and the divisions get more intense. And most of all, there are additional acts of violence. I was in the Capitol on January 6th. This is not a theoretical issue for me. I know what happens in this country when the powder keg is lit, and I’ve seen the results of that, and I don’t want to see it again.
KATHERINE GYPSON:
That’s all for now.
Once again,I am Katherine Gypson.
As we close out this week’s show, we leave you with images from other historical cases involving U.S. Presidents, from Watergate to Iran Contra, to the impeachments of President Bill Clinton and President Donald Trump.
I am Katherine Gypson.
See you next week on Inside Story.
