Why now applies to Donald Trump: lock him up! What we know about the crime in Annecy and what relatives say about the alleged perpetrator

During the 2016 election campaign, Trump supporters fervently bellowed, “Lock her up!” The intention was that Hillary Clinton would be charged with leaking secrets and jailed for sending some of her emails through a private server. Donald Trump then promised: “As president, I will strictly enforce the laws regarding compliance with security regulations for sensitive documents. No one will be above the law.”

These words should get stuck in his throat today. Hillary Clinton was charged with negligence but never charged. On the other hand, Trump will have to trot again next Tuesday in a Miami court and endure the humiliating procedure – mugshot, fingerprints, possibly even handcuffs – that is common when an indictment is announced in the United States.

Even worse for the ex-president, the charges against him seem very solid. Details are not yet known, but it is said that there are seven charges, which relate to violations of the Espionage Act (treason) and obstruction of justice. Both offenses can lead to long prison terms.

Legally, Special Counsel Jack Smith – who leads the prosecution – has many trump cards. The case seems crystal clear, at least at first glance. Trump illegally held documents from the National Archives. Despite repeated requests, he refused to hand it over. Yes, his lawyers have falsely stated that there are no other documents in Trump’s possession, and employees at the Mar-a-Lago residence have tried to hide them.

The fact that more than 100 of these documents are labeled “top secret” doesn’t necessarily make things easier for Trump’s lawyers, nor does the fact that the ex-president himself consistently knocked down their lines of defense. Initially, the lawyers wanted to argue that the documents were accidentally transported to Florida during the chaotic departure from the White House. However, Trump himself said he brought her on purpose. He has the right to do that because he released her. However, a tape has now surfaced on which he himself admits that he knew he was breaking the law.

The facts are clear and Trump’s statements make it easy for Jack Smith to prove that the ex-president broke the law in full knowledge of the facts. Even legal experts in Trump’s circle see it this way: his former Attorney General William Barr and former White House lawyer Ty Cobb even think he should go to jail for that.

The surprising thing about the suit is that it was filed in a court in Miami and not in Washington DC as was widely expected. However, there are four obvious reasons for this:

This is Trump’s second charge, and the second charge is much more serious than the first. There are two reasons for this: First, Trump needs to face a national (“federal”) and not a state court. Second, allegations of leaking secrets are much more serious than allegations of paying a porn star hush money, as is the case in Manhattan.

Trump is nowhere near the end of the legal flagpole. Possible, even likely, is an indictment of the ex-president’s role before and during the storming of the Capitol. That suit, if it happened, would also be filed by Jack Smith. Chances are that Fani Willis, a Georgia prosecutor, will also take Trump before the Kadi on charges of attempted vote fraud.

So what if Trump was actually convicted in one of these trials? It wouldn’t stop him from contesting next year’s election. According to the US Constitution, there are only three requirements for the office of president: the candidate must be at least 35 years old, he or she must be born in the United States and have lived there for at least 14 years.

Trump meets all of these criteria, even after a potential conviction. What he cannot do in this case, however, is vote for himself. In many US states, convicts are not allowed to vote. In Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis teasingly prevents them from going to the polls.