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What do Edward Snowden (39), Julian Assange (51) and Donald Trump (76) have in common? All three face long prison terms for violating US espionage law. Snowden twice, Assange 17 times and Trump 31 times, according to the just published indictment!
The ex-president is said to have taken tens of thousands of sensitive documents from the White House to his private residence Mar-A-Lago in Florida. Several hundred of the documents are “top secret”. In other words, if your content becomes public, it jeopardizes the security of the United States. For this, he is the first US president in history to be tried in a federal court.
Trump in court: that in itself is nothing new. Preparations for a trial that will start in New York in March 2024 have been underway for months. There, Trump is accused of trying to keep his hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels secret with falsified statements.
Compared to the new legal adversity, however, that is only peanuts. The espionage trial is likely to be violent for the Republican. And rightly so: by illegally “deleting” the classified documents, he jeopardized US security and torpedoed international confidence in America.
The recent case of US soldier Jack Teixeira (21), who shared sensitive US documents about the war in Ukraine with acquaintances, showed how devastating the lax handling of classified documents can be. The release of the data temporarily shook Ukraine’s war effort.
As late as the 1950s, the US executed several US citizens for violating the Espionage Act. Today, offenses have a maximum of ten years. However, Trump could even face 20 years in prison for obstructing police work in Mar-A-Lago.
Sounds like a nightmare, but it’s a real scenario. Provided there are enough impartial jurors who – as is customary in such trials in America – first have to decide whether the suspect is guilty or not guilty.
The evidence against Trump seems overwhelming. Photos in the 49-page indictment show the once most powerful man in the world hiding boxes of secret files in the banquet halls and even a bathroom of his luxury residence. Where others pile their books on crossword puzzles, Trump has left documents about the weaknesses of US defenses and the nuclear programs of allied nations lying around. In at least two cases, Trump would have circulated the classified documents.
Trump is due to appear before a judge in Miami on Tuesday for a reading of the indictment. Theoretically, the judge could even take him into custody afterwards. The actual trial could start as early as August, but will likely be delayed for months due to a host of objections.
Politically, Trump seems to have done nothing wrong so far. He is and will remain the Republican favorite for the next presidential election. Under US law, he could be sworn in as president even if he was behind bars as a convicted felon.
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
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