New York, April 4 (IANS) A new poll has revealed that majority of Americans (60 per cent) approve of former President Donald Trump’s indictiment in a hush money case involving adult film actress Stormy Daniels.
Trump will be the first former President to be arrested and face a trial in the nation’s 246-year history, sending the US into unchartered legal and political territory.
Trump is facing charges relating to the $130,000 payment he allegedly made before the 2016 election through his former lawyer Michael Cohen to Daniels, who claimed to have had an affair with him in 2006.
The charges, handed down by a grand jury — a panel of citizens convened to decide if there was a prima facie case — are under seal till they are presented in court on Tuesday.
Since hush money payments and extra-martial affairs are not illegal, it is likely that the charges will be about bookkeeping irregularities in how they were recorded and if they can be made out to be in violation of campaign finance laws.
Some leaks reported by the media have said that Trump will be bludgeoned with more than two dozen charges, some of them serious criminal allegations or felonies with a maximum sentence of four years in prison.
Meanwhile, the CNN poll released on the eve of his court appearance revealed that about three-quarters of Americans have said politics played at least some role in the decision to indict Trump, including 52 per cent who said it played a major role.
Independents largely lined up in support of the indictment — 62 per cent approve of it and 38 per cent disapprove.
Democrats are near universal in their support for the indictment (94 per cent approve, including 71 per cent who strongly approve of the indictment), with Republicans less unified in opposition (79 per cent disapprove, with 54 per cent strongly disapproving), according to the CNN poll.
While views on the indictment are split along party lines, the poll found that majorities across major demographic divides all approve of the decision to indict the former President.
That includes gender (62 per cent women, 58 per cent men); racial and ethnic groups (82 per cent of Black adults, 71 per cent of Hispanic adults, 51 per cent of White adults); generational lines (69 per cent under age 35; 62 per cent age 35-49; 53 per cent age 50-64; 54 per cent 65 or older); and educational levels (68 per cent with college degrees, 56 per cent with some college or less).
Meanwhile, a scant 10 per cent overall see Trump as blameless regarding payments made to Daniels, but Americans are divided about whether his actions were illegal or merely unethical, says the CNN poll.
About 4 in 10 say he acted illegally (37 per cent), 33 per cent unethically but not illegally, and another 20 per cent say they aren’t sure.
Only 8 per cent of political independents say Trump did nothing wrong, and among the rest, they are mostly on board with the indictment even if they aren’t already convinced the former President did something illegal.
Meanwhile, Trump’s lawyers have said that he will fight the charges at the trial that will be months away.
The Constitution allows him to run for President while he is on trial or even if he is convicted and imprisoned.
The billionaire businessman flew into New York City on Monday from his home in Florida on his private Boeing 757 with “Trump” emblazoned on it.
Trump’s arrest by New York authorities will be overseen by the Secret Service, which is legally charged with protecting him as a former president.
His lawyer Joe Tacopina has said that Trump will not be handcuffed.
–IANS
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