Caribbean American Democratic legislators applauded the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office’s decision to charge former US President Donald J. Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
The indictment, which was unsealed in court on Tuesday, centers on Trump’s payments to his former fixer, Michael D. Cohen, the prosecution’s key witness, for a hush-money payment to pornographic star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. At his arraignment on Tuesday, Trump pleaded not guilty.
“Our laws must be applied universally if America is to remain a vibrant democracy and a nation of laws,” Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), adding that it is “a moment of both pride and pain for our country.”
“The presidency is supposed to embody our highest ideals as Americans.” Witnessing an individual who once held that sacred title plummet to such despicable lows will leave a scar that will not heal easily,” said Clarke, the representative for Brooklyn’s predominantly Caribbean 9th Congressional District.
“However, we must take heart from the fact that our justice system has refused to let former President Trump escape the consequences of his alleged actions,” she said, adding that a “critical procedure towards preserving the rule of law and protecting our values as a nation has begun.”
“With Donald Trump’s long history of flagrant disregard for the precious right to due process and the rule of law in mind, it is my sincere hope that he receives a fair trial and just treatment during the adjudication of the numerous charges against him.”
“I eagerly await the release of any evidence that sheds light on Mr. Trump’s alleged crimes,” said Clarke, first vice chair of the US Congressional Black Caucus.
The daughter of Haitian immigrants, New York State Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who chairs the Brooklyn Democratic Party, told CMC that “Trump’s arraignment shows that justice still endures and that nobody, including a former president, is above the law.”
“The Brooklyn Democratic Party applauds Manhattan DA (District Attorney) Alvin Bragg for his thorough investigation, and we are confident that Trump will have a fair trial, regardless of the outcome,” the 42nd Assembly District representative added.
“Harassment has no place in our justice system, and we urge everyone to protest peacefully as justice triumphs over hatred.”
“If true, the allegations that Trump concealed crimes that concealed damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election are extremely disturbing and deserve a worthy and fair punishment,” Bichotte Hermelyn said.
Jumaane Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants, joined his colleagues and fellow advocates Tuesday at the Manhattan courthouse “to stand up to hate and counter the voices of folks who came to our city to spread lies and stoke bigoted division like Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
Greene, a conservative Georgia congresswoman and staunch Trump supporter, briefly used a bullhorn in a nearby park to rally support for the former president during his arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“The same people fighting against bail reform and for a system that benefits whiter and wealthier defendants at the expense of marginalized communities who are calling Trump’s indictment and arraignment an injustice,” Williams told CMC, adding, “as always, I’m proud to stand up for justice, regardless of the consequences.”
“While conservatives across the country work to undermine our progressive agenda, we in New York aren’t slowing down.” I’ll keep working to protect asylum seekers, strengthen tenants’ rights, pass critical health-care reform, and advance true public safety.
“As the disgraced former president faces his first arraignment for his many alleged crimes, the people calling his indictment an injustice and attacking District Attorney Bragg are the same people who called the District Attorney’s efforts to combat mass incarceration’soft on crime,'” Williams said.
In addition to the indictment, District Attorney Bragg issued a “statement of facts” outlining a larger scheme allegedly orchestrated by Trump and others to avoid negative press during the 2016 campaign.
According to Bragg, the alleged scheme also included hush-money payments to a second woman who claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump and a former Trump doorman who claimed the former US President had an unwed child.
Bragg said in announcing the indictment that Trump, 76, falsified New York business records to conceal damaging information and engaged in illegal activity with American voters before and after the 2016 election.
“During the election, Trump and others used a ‘catch and kill’ strategy to identify, buy, and bury negative information about him in order to boost his electoral prospects,” Bragg said.
“Trump then went to great lengths to conceal this behavior, causing dozens of false entries in business records to cover up criminal activity, including attempts to violate state and federal election laws.”
“The People of the State of New York allege that Donald J. Trump falsified New York business records repeatedly and fraudulently to conceal crimes that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election,” he added.
Following Trump’s arraignment, Bragg stated at a press conference that “everyone stands equal under the law.”
