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Donald Trump and Imran Khan face the music [1]

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Date: 2023-03-19

On Saturday, following a dramatic day where police used a bulldozer to break into former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s home, the arrest warrant was cancelled. Khan, a controversial figure, had been accused of failing to declare gifts received during his tenure as premier and the profit made from selling them, and had missed several court hearings related to the charges. Prior to his political career, Khan had been a well-known cricket player. After a gathering of around 4,000 of his supporters who pelted police officers with stones and bricks, he was unable to leave his car upon arriving at the Islamabad court complex on Saturday. In response, officers used tear gas.

At the same time, former US President Donald Trump faces charges over his payment of “hush money” to former stripper Stormy Daniels. Trump reportedly paid Daniels $130,000 in the fall of 2016 to prevent or at least reduce any public scandal. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg appears to have a weak case, but this should not stop him from pursuing it to the full extent of the law.

Trump said in a post on Truth Social on Saturday that “illegal leaks” indicate that “the far & away leading Republican candidate & former president of the United States of America, will be arrested on Tuesday of next week.”

“PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!” Trump demanded from his supporters. This is a direct call for anarchy resembling what he did on Jan. 6, 2021. This alone can and should be enough for him to be arrested over incitement to violence, but the focus is elsewhere. At the moment, Trump could potentially face prison over hush money payments made to Daniels. In 2016, just before the presidential election, Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, paid Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged affair she had with Trump in 2006. Cohen later testified that the payment was made at Trump's direction and that it constituted a campaign finance violation.

In 2018, federal prosecutors in New York filed charges against Cohen for violating campaign finance laws, among other things, and he was sentenced to three years in prison. During Cohen's trial, prosecutors referred to Trump as "Individual-1" and said that he had directed the hush money payments. While a sitting president cannot be indicted, Trump is no longer immune from prosecution now that he has left office. If he were to be charged and convicted of a campaign finance violation, he could face up to five years in prison.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and Twitter, has claimed that if former US President Donald Trump is indicted by Manhattan prosecutors, he will win the 2024 presidential election in a "landslide victory" and be re-elected as president.

Some celebrities reacted to the news, including novelist Stephen King, and filmmaker and actor Rob Reiner.

“Donald Trump is a sociopath and a criminal,” wrote King. “To let him near the nuclear codes again would be insane.”

“When Donald Trump became the Republican nominee for president in 2016, I joined Twitter. I wanted to speak out against a man I knew to be a Pathologically Lying Misogynistic Racist who was and is an existential danger to our Democracy,” wrote Reiner.

There are just two examples representing millions, if not more, of people who hold the same sentiment. Trump deserves to be arrested and charged for numerous reasons, not least of which was the Jan. 6 insurrection. The Stormy Daniels story is just the tip of the iceberg of the man’s despicable behavior and insufferable personality.

While Khan was told by the Islamabad court to ensure he shows up at the next hearing on March 30, it remains to be seen what happens next. Khan's warrants were cancelled once he formally appeared at the court. On Saturday, as his car arrived at the court building, there were clashes between police and supporters of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

In an audio message shared by his team later on Saturday, Khan said he was not allowed to enter the court.

“I’ve been outside the court for 15 minutes,” Khan said. “I’m trying my best to enter, but the police have fired tear gas, placed obstacles and containers. It seems they don’t want me to enter the court.” Since he was unable to exit his car but did show up at the court, he was considered to have made the effort to attend although a new court date was set. Could a similar event take place in Manhattan should Trump decide to attend a court hearing in person? Will thousands of Trump supporters descend on New York City to protest against what they see as an unfair accusation and arrest of their former president and leader? At this point, there is no way to tell, but law enforcement officials should be prepared for such a scenario. Expressing what many people want to say, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said about Trump, “He cannot hide from his violations of the law, disrespect for our elections and incitements to violence.” Pelosi is right. Donald Trump should face the music. And the chaos that took place on Jan. 6 could be nothing compared to what may occur this week.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/19/2159058/-Donald-Trump-and-Imran-Khan-face-the-music

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