Caso Trump

MundoAmérica,

To understand how extraordinary the Supreme Court’s opinion in Trump v. United States is, go back to 1974. That was the last time a former president faced a realistic chance of prosecution for crimes committed while in office. The justices gave Donald Trump a degree of deference that was inconceivable for Richard M. Nixon a half-century ago – and one that no one on any side of Nixon’s legal battles even imagined.

After Nixon resigned on Aug. 9, 1974, the lawyers on the staff of Leon Jaworski, the Watergate special prosecutor, were primed to charge Nixon with crimes relating to the coverup of the botched burglary at Democratic National Committee headquarters on June 17, 1972.…  Seguir leyendo »

Juicio al rey Trump

MundoAmérica,

El drama que está protagonizando el expresidente estadounidense Donald Trump en un tribunal de la ciudad de Nueva York es más que un simple juicio penal, es una competencia entre distintas concepciones del poder: un sistema democrático liberal de derecho contra una concepción iliberal que sitúa a la fuente de autoridad fuera del sistema legal actual.

Según la visión convencional —más allá de que por primera vez en la historia de EE. UU. el acusado es un expresidente (y candidato a presidente)— se trata simplemente de otro caso penal; los fiscales están tratando de demostrar más allá de toda duda razonable que Trump falsificó registros comerciales deliberada e ilegalmente para ocultar un pago a la actriz de películas para adultos Stormy Daniels, para que guardara silencio sobre un supuesto encuentro sexual con él.…  Seguir leyendo »

A courtroom drawing depicts Michael R. Dreeben, counselor to special counsel Jack Smith, arguing before the Supreme Court on April 25. (Dana Verkouteren/AP)

MundoAmérica

One aspect of special counsel Jack Smith’s arguments to the Supreme Court last week in Trump v. United States has not gotten enough attention: his claim that the Justice Department has independent power to confer immunity on the president. Adopting this argument would be a disaster for the presidency.

Smith was represented at the Supreme Court by Michael R. Dreeben, who served as a deputy solicitor general in the Justice Department for 24 years. In that role, Dreeben had primary responsibility for overseeing the department’s criminal docket before the Supreme Court. Dreeben thus spent nearly a quarter-century as the top advocate at the Supreme Court for federal prosecutorial interests.…  Seguir leyendo »

Donald Trump giving a statement after the eighth day of his trial for falsifying business records, New York City, April 26, 2024

MundoAmérica,

On April 25 the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Trump v. United States, on whether a former president enjoys immunity from prosecution for crimes committed while in office. The Court did not need to accept the case; it could easily have passed on former President Donald Trump’s extraordinary claims of blanket immunity and allowed his trial on federal felony charges for attempting to overthrow the 2020 election to go forward. But since a federal grand jury in Washington indicted him over the election, the Court has done everything possible, as I argued recently in these pages, to delay the case from being brought to trial: first by refusing to rule expeditiously on the immunity motions back in December, then by taking the case in February, then by setting oral arguments for the very last day on its schedule.…  Seguir leyendo »

Trump en su Torre

MundoAmérica, ,

En este año 2024, año de elecciones presidenciales en los Estados Unidos, Donald Trump está inmerso en una nueva cascada de juicios que podrían complicar su candidatura a la Casa Blanca. Aunque el Supremo acaba de fallar definitivamente a favor de su elegibilidad y el supermartes ha afianzado su nominación como candidato republicano, las cosas todavía podrían torcerse. Su calvario judicial comenzó en Nueva York, con el caso sobre falsificación de registros contables cuya finalidad eran pagos para ocultar escándalos que pudieran perjudicarle en su campaña electoral de 2016. Por primera vez en la historia del país más poderoso del planeta, un presidente se sentaba en el banquillo de los acusados para responder ante la justicia, con la impactante imagen de su arresto policial.…  Seguir leyendo »

Donald Trump speaking at Mar-a-Lago after the Supreme Court ruled that he can appear on the ballot during this year’s presidential election, Florida, March 4, 2024. Alon Skuy/Getty Images

MundoAmérica, ,

In one of the Supreme Court’s most sweeping rulings in modern times, a five-man majority has effectively nullified a critical provision of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States. The “oathbreaking insurrectionist” Donald Trump—a designation unchallenged by either the Supreme Court majority, the Colorado courts, or even his attorneys—will never be disqualified from the presidency. Nor will any other insurrectionist whose partisans control a majority in Congress. A trio of more liberal justices, in a concurring judgment, eviscerated the historical and constitutional basis for the majority’s nullification, but joined in the result only, based on erroneous jurisprudence of their own.…  Seguir leyendo »

(Washington Post staff illustration; photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post, iStock)

MundoAmérica, ,

A federal judge has declared him liable for rape. He faces paying a half-billion dollars in legal judgments for fraud and defamation. Twice impeached, then defeated for reelection, he has been charged with 91 felonies. He has been arrested and his mug shot published; he will spend much of the year in and out of courtrooms. On the campaign trail, his rambling speeches are gaffe-ridden and prone to malapropisms and meltdowns.

In a normal universe, this would not be the description of a fortunate man.

But we do not live that universe, and we must consider the very real — and infuriating — possibility that Donald J.…  Seguir leyendo »

(Washington Post staff illustration; photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

MundoAmérica,

The court trials of former president Donald Trump are well underway, yet aside from the Georgia RICO prosecution, it is unlikely, based on current law, that there will be cameras in the courtrooms for any of these history-making proceedings.

This, however, need not be the death knell for transparency. There is a simple way to provide the public with a direct view into the upcoming trials of the only U.S. president ever to be prosecuted for alleged crimes committed while in office: the daily release of the official word-for-word trial transcripts.

Transcripts of trial proceedings are verbatim and contemporaneous records produced by court reporters for every court session, including pretrial conferences.…  Seguir leyendo »

Donald Trump leaving the stage of a watch party for the Nevada Republican caucus on the day the Supreme Court heard oral arguments over whether he should be disqualified from the presidency, Las Vegas, February 8, 2024. Ian Maule/Bloomberg

MundoAmérica,

The Supreme Court justices’ responses last Thursday to the oral arguments over Donald Trump’s disqualification under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment were worse than an embarrassment—they were a disgrace. With the partial exception of Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the members of the Court appeared woefully ignorant of the historical and constitutional issues before them. They took up in detail the ramifications of an eccentric 1869 circuit court ruling by Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase, In re Griffin, that Section 3 could not be enforced without congressional approval, overlooking, except briefly and in passing, that in that case Chase flatly contradicted what he had ruled in another trial a year earlier.…  Seguir leyendo »

El poder de la causa perdida de Trump

MundoAmérica,

El 6 de enero de 2021 en Washington D. C., como es bien sabido, el presidente estadounidense Donald Trump —que había perdido las elecciones de 2020— dio un discurso ante un grupo de sus seguidores, que luego se unieron a la turba que atacó el Capitolio del país. Aunque en su diatriba divagó y se mostró incoherente, dejó algunas cosas en claro: la izquierda había conspirado para robar las elecciones mediante el fraude y la muchedumbre convocada en Washington en su nombre debía «mantenerse firme». Implicó que podía ser necesario recurrir a la violencia, porque «no hay forma de recuperar al país con debilidad».…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

La Corte Suprema de Colorado acaba de dictar una sentencia en la que declara que, en efecto, Donald Trump participó en la insurrección del 6 de enero de 2021 en el Capitolio en la que una turba de sus seguidores intentó mediante el uso de la fuerza revertir la victoria de Joe Biden en las urnas e impedir su proclamación como presidente de Estados Unidos. Por ello no podrá presentarse a las elecciones primarias del Partido Republicano en ese Estado al serle aplicable la causa de descalificación prevista en la decimocuarta enmienda de la Constitución. Se trata del primer fallo de un tribunal de ese rango que impide al magnate concurrir a los comicios del próximo noviembre, aunque solo tiene validez en ese Estado y es recurrible ante el Supremo de EE UU, de amplia mayoría conservadora.…  Seguir leyendo »

Trump y una falsa defensa basada en la libertad de expresión

MundoAmérica,

Ante la acusación federal formal contra Donald Trump de conspirar para invalidar las elecciones presidenciales estadounidenses de 2020 y continuar en el cargo, sus abogados y defensores sostienen que simplemente ejerció su derecho a la libertad de expresión de acuerdo con la Primera Enmienda a la Constitución de EE. UU. Hay que entender entonces dónde termina la libertad de expresión y empieza el delito de defraudación.

Que las acciones de Trump hayan sido palabras no implica que estén protegidas por la Constitución; por el contrario, numerosos delitos implican transponer los límites de lo que se puede decir. Por ejemplo, es ilegal mentir a los funcionarios de las fuerzas del orden o a un jurado, o presentar un producto como seguro cuando no lo es.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

Editor’s note: A grand jury in Georgia indicted Donald Trump and 18 others on August 14th, after this article was published. They face a total of 41 charges, 13 of which are against Mr Trump. Fani Willis, Fulton County’s district attorney, said she plans to try all 19 of the accused together.

A prosecutor in Georgia appears ready to unveil criminal charges against Donald Trump, for attempting to reverse his loss in that state in the presidential election of 2020. These charges will land not long after Jack Smith, the Justice Department’s special counsel, filed his historic four-count indictment of the former president for trying to overthrow the entire national election and remain in power.…  Seguir leyendo »

MundoAmérica,

La transición presidencial más tumultuosa de la historia de EE UU no tuvo lugar entre el 3 de noviembre de 2020 y el 6 de enero de 2021, sino hace más de 160 años. Un nuevo presidente electo republicano debía tomar el relevo de un Gobierno que parecía incapaz de mantener unida a una nación en crisis. Sólo había obtenido alrededor del 40% del voto popular, y el resto se repartía entre una larga lista de oponentes. Se trataba de Abraham Lincoln y era 1860. Durante la transición presidencial, siete Estados declararon la secesión. Los sureños tomaron fuertes y se rearmaron.…  Seguir leyendo »

El imperio de la ley y la democracia en EE UU

MundoAmérica,

El 45º presidente de Estados Unidos de América, Donald Trump, ha sido acusado formalmente de unos hechos gravísimos: conspiración con deslealtad y engaño contra el funcionamiento democrático de su país, valiéndose de su posición como presidente en funciones, con el objeto de violentar el resultado electoral y mantenerse ilegalmente en el poder.

Así comienza el escrito de acusación: «A pesar de haber perdido, el acusado (Donald Trump) estaba decidido a permanecer en el poder y con ese propósito, durante más de dos meses después del día de las elecciones, el 3 de noviembre de 2020, el acusado difundió conscientemente mentiras, alegando que se había producido un fraude que alteraba el resultado de las elecciones y que en realidad él había ganado.…  Seguir leyendo »

Por amor a Trump

MundoAmérica,

Es casi absurdo. Donald Trump acaba de recibir cuatro acusaciones formales por delitos que incluyen defraudar a los Estados Unidos y conspirar contra el derecho al voto de los estadounidenses. Además enfrenta otras cuarenta acusaciones (incluidas infracciones contra la Ley de Espionaje) en un tribunal federal de Florida y 34 en Nueva York por delitos graves en relación con el intento de silenciar un escándalo sexual. Pero a pesar de todo eso, su condición de favorito para ser el próximo candidato presidencial republicano parece inamovible. Según una encuesta reciente, le lleva 37 puntos porcentuales de ventaja a su rival más cercano, Ron DeSantis (gobernador de Florida).…  Seguir leyendo »

The Miami federal courthouse where Donald Trump was arraigned on Tuesday.Credit...Miguel J. Rodríguez Carrillo /Getty Images

MundoAmérica,

Judge Aileen Cannon, randomly assigned to preside over the prosecution of Donald Trump in the classified document case, is coming under intensely critical scrutiny from the left. Some point out that she was appointed to her position by Mr. Trump. Others highlight her actions last year, when she disrupted the documents investigation by issuing rulings favorable to him when he challenged the F.B.I.’s search of his Mar-a-Lago resort — before an appeals court ruled that she never had legal authority to intervene.

Critics have demanded her recusal because they fear that she will potentially sabotage the prosecution by giving Mr. Trump unwarranted delays and favorable evidentiary rulings.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Genius of Leaving Trump’s Fate Up to 12 Ordinary Floridians

MundoAmérica,

Among the criminal charges now facing the former president of the United States, the most extraordinary are 31 counts of violating the Espionage Act, a century-old law prohibiting the unlawful retention of “information relating to the national defense”. Barring a guilty plea — the more common resolution in a case as strong as this — those charges will eventually go before a jury.

In one sense, the indictment of Donald Trump on charges of violating the Espionage Act is just like the other cases the government has brought since the act’s adoption during World War I. The statute does not simply prohibit the retention of any document marked “classified”.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Impossible Task of Defending Donald Trump

MundoAmérica,

From the moment Donald Trump was indicted last week, top Republican lawmakers and media figures have found themselves in the humiliating position of trying to defend the indefensible. Many of them are lawyers; having seen the overwhelming strength of the evidence in the indictment, they could simply have accepted that Mr. Trump is in big trouble.

Instead, they have burst forth with an embarrassing slurry of misdirection, illogic and non sequiturs explaining why Mr. Trump should not be treated like everyone else in the eyes of the law. They offer legal arguments with no basis in the law or explanations that are nonsensical on their face.…  Seguir leyendo »

Photographs from 2021 of boxes of documents in storage at Mar-a-Lago, included in the Justice Department’s indictment of Donald Trump. Department of Justice

MundoAmérica,

Secrets are a kind of currency. They can be hoarded, but if kept for too long they lose their value. Like all currencies, they must, sooner or later, be used in a transaction—sold to the highest bidder or bartered as a favor for which another favor will be returned. To see the full scale of Donald Trump’s betrayal of his country, it is necessary to start with this reality. He kept intelligence documents because, at some point, those secrets could be used in a transaction. What he was stockpiling were the materials of treason. He may not have known how and when he would cash in this currency, but there can be little doubt that he was determined to retain the ability to do just that.…  Seguir leyendo »