Donald Trump, as you no doubt know, was arraigned in a Manhattan court today. The former president is back in Florida at this hour and scheduled to speak in just a moment from Mar-a-Lago. This feels significant. So we're going to take his remarks live as soon as they begin. But before we get there, it's worth understanding what it is we've just seen. Often the clearest perspectives on our country come from outside its borders. With distance comes clarity. So with that in mind, here is Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele on Twitter today.
NAYIB BUKELE: Think what you want about former President Trump and the reasons he's being indicted. But just imagine if this happened in any other country where a government arrested the main opposition candidate. The United States' ability to use '"democracy'" as foreign policy is gone.
Thousands of miles from New York City in the heart of Central America. It is very obvious what just happened at that Manhattan courthouse. It's obvious to many Democrats too. Trump was criminally charged because he is planning to challenge Joe Biden in the upcoming presidential election. It's really that simple. If Donald Trump had retired in 2020, would he have been arraigned today? Of course not. Top Democrats know that. Some effectively admit it. The liberal blog Politico this morning ran a piece describing what it called President Joe Biden's most senior advisers, predicting that Trump will be the Republican nominee. And because he has now been charged with crimes, he will lose the general election. Thanks to this criminal case, the Biden White House believes that swing voters, the critical voters in a presidential election, are "now permanently out of Trump's reach."
And just to make certain that swing voters never fall within Trump's reach, Donald Trump is scheduled to be back in court in New York with the accompanying media circus just weeks before the first Republican primary. This is the boldest election interference ever attempted in this country's history. And if you doubt that, if you think it's maybe on the level, then we suggest you look carefully at the indictment that was unveiled today. Donald Trump, as you've probably heard, has been charged with 34 separate crimes. Those crimes turn out on close examination to be the same crime repeated 34 times, and that crime is "falsifying business records in the first degree."
So the Manhattan D.A. alleges that Donald Trump sent his own money to various people for various entirely legal reasons, but didn't account for it correctly in his office records. That's what he's accused of. And even if what Alvin Bragg has said Trump did, he actually did do, Trump could not be charged with that because the statute of limitations has expired. So the question is, how did Alvin Bragg drag Donald Trump into court today? Well, he did it by claiming that Trump falsified business records as a means of violating some other much more serious law. That's what he's saying. Here's Alvin Bragg today.
TRUMP FACES MAXIMUM SENTENCE OF 136 YEARS IN PRISON FOR 34-COUNT INDICTMENT
ALVIN BRAGG: Under New York state law, it is a felony to falsify business records with intent to defraud and intent to conceal another crime. That is exactly what this case is about. Thirty-four false statements made to cover up other crimes. These are felony crimes in New York State, no matter who you are. We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct. The defendant repeatedly made false statements on New York business records. He also caused others to make false statements.
So here's what Bragg just said in case you weren't paying attention to the lecture. Donald Trump has committed a crime not by changing business records, but by changing business records in order to conceal another, more serious crime or to defraud somebody. So let's take this in order. What is the more serious crime? Well, we have no idea, because Bragg hasn't told us. No such more serious crime is listed in the indictment. And critically, and this really is the point. Donald Trump has not been charged with another more serious crime. So what we have as of tonight is an indictment that does not allege specific violations of the law. Well, that's, of course, unconstitutional, but it's also farcical.
What about the fraud claim you just heard Bragg make on television? Well, Brag claims that Trump sent money to Stormy Daniels in order to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. And in so doing, he tried to "defraud voters." Well, that turns out to be an actual crime that's on the books. Bragg is claiming that Donald Trump committed a campaign finance violation, which is a federal crime, by the way. The problem is he did not commit a campaign finance violation. Nobody is claiming that he did, including the Federal Election Commission, which has investigated this question. So as a legal matter, the case brought today – the 34 felonies make no sense at all. It's ridiculous. But as a political tactic, which is precisely what it is, it is likely to be effective, and that's why the media so fervently supports it. Watch.
LIBERAL MEDIA KNOCKED FOR CHEERING ON DONALD TRUMP INDICTMENT: ‘SHOW SOME RESTRAINT'
MSNBC POLITICAL ANALYST: A kind of an alliance between different groups that have a history of being dispossessed and discriminated against, whether they are Jews or Black Americans or LGBT folks. It might come together to push back against the White Christian nationalist assault on American democracy.
MSNBC CONTRIBUTOR: But you don't know what part this man might play in the future of our democracy.
MSNBC GUEST: This campaign of disinformation that's continuously undermining our democracy.
CNN GUEST: One-day people will look back and say how we've handled this on this issue of Trump, how it affects our democracy really could be a major, major event, could be a big turning point one way or the other.
MSNBC GUEST: The federal prosecutors have said this is a crime that imperils our democracy.
So it imperils our democracy. And because we care so deeply about democracy, we're going to prevent the leading candidate in the other party from running for president, not let voters vote for him. Notice there was not one word about any crime here, meaning a violation of statue. So what is this really about? Well, you may have heard MSNBC guest Peter Beinart described today's circus in Manhattan as part of a larger offensive by a coalition of the aggrieved and we're quoting, "to push back against the White Christian nationalist assault on American democracy." Now, in case you're waiting to hear the real motive here, wait no longer. There it is. Let that sink in. Does that sound like justice to you or does that sound like tribal justice? Well, that's exactly what it is.
