Sanjrani terms Trump trial a litmus test for US judicial system

ISLAMABAD: Senate Chairman Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani shared his opinion on the indictment of former United States President Donald Trump, terming the development 'historic and unprecedented'.

The Manhattan grand jury in New York charged the former US president with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records during his 2016 presidential campaign.

The former president faces some of the most severe legal consequences for any US president in history.

Taking to his official Twitter handle, Sanjrani believed that the development would propel the US into uncharted political waters, and would also serve as a litmus test for its judicial system which is widely recognised for its fairness.

He said that many people would closely follow and monitor this historic development and its outcome, and he would be among them.

Charges against Trump

Donald Trump is facing 34 felony charges of falsifying business records related to a $130,000 payment made to porn star Stormy Daniels. The indictment was handed down by a Manhattan grand jury and unsealed on Tuesday. Under New York law, a conviction on this charge can result in a sentence of between one and four years in prison.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg laid out the case against Trump, his former personal attorney Michael Cohen, and executives at American Media Inc, publisher of the National Enquirer tabloid.

The charges are that they were involved in a "catch and kill" operation to "buy and suppress negative information to help Trump's chance of winning the election." The scheme involved paying hush money to Daniels, a former Trump Tower doorman, as well as buying her silence as she allegedly had a year-long sexual relationship with Trump.

According to Bragg, Trump arranged the payment to Daniels through Cohen just days before the November 2016 election to keep her quiet about a 2006 tryst at a Lake Tahoe resort. Trump then reimbursed Cohen with checks disguised as part of a retainer agreement, even though there was no such agreement.

One payment of $30,000 was made through AMI to prevent a former Trump Tower doorman from sharing false allegations that Trump fathered a child out of wedlock, according to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

The final case involved a woman who reportedly had a nearly year-long sexual relationship with Trump and received $150,000 from AMI in exchange for her silence. Although the woman was not identified by Bragg, it has been previously reported that the woman was Karen McDougal, a former Playboy playmate.

Trump denies any wrongdoing and believes he is the victim of a political witch hunt by Bragg, who is a Democrat, to undermine his 2024 White House campaign.

Cohen has since turned against his former boss and acknowledged paying Daniels on Trump's behalf. He was sentenced to three years in prison for the hush-money case, tax evasion, and other crimes.