Now We Know Why They Wanted to Keep the Trump Indictment Sealed

With the indictment and now arrest of Donald Trump, we’ve officially entered a new and very troubling phase in our country’s history. In this new phase prosecutors use their position to punish political enemies for made-up crimes – and half of the country cheers it, believing that their own personal animus toward someone or even a simple policy disagreement means that person should be locked up. There’s no critical thought involved, no sober consideration of the rule of law and evaluation of whether the facts even remotely meet the elements of a crime; these prosecutors act based on the shrieking of the masses and their own hunger for power.

During the few weeks since Trump announced that he was going to be indicted, official news has been almost impossible to come by. What the public knew in the lead-up was mostly as a result of leaks from DA Bragg’s office and speculation from political insiders and pundits. When Trump surrendered to authorities, was processed, and then escorted into the courtroom, we still didn’t know exactly what crime(s) our former president was going to be charged with. It was only once we were 20 minutes into the arraignment proceedings that we learned that he has been charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records. When the indictment was published, it was immediately clear that they kept it under wraps because it’s so flimsy and utterly laughable. As our Nick Arama predicted, Bragg’s engaging in “charge stacking,” a practice that is frowned-upon as an abusive tactic, the “second charge” that would possibly make the offense a felony is unclear, and the actions Bragg’s saying constitute the falsifying took place so long ago that the statute of limitations has expired.

And during the arraignment itself, the American public was similarly in the dark. While the judge allowed five pool still photographers into the courtroom to take pictures before the arraignment, he denied a request from news organizations to broadcast the arraignment. Sure, we’ll potentially have access to a transcript, but a transcript does not in any way tell the entire story of what happened in the courtroom. It doesn’t show facial expressions, vocal intonation, or body language, and as the saying goes, a picture tells a thousand words.

Although Trump’s attorneys argued against the news organizations’ request, saying it could pose a security risk and disrupt the proceedings, for the American public to be unable to fully observe what happens in that courtroom sets a dangerous precedent and doesn’t promote confidence in the principles of equal protection or due process – especially with the lack of transparency regarding the indictment itself. One reporter who was in the courtroom said that Trump’s attorneys laughed quietly when they were looking at the paperwork, and given its contents, that’s understandable. The American people need to see things like that, and hopefully they will be able to watch broadcasts of the preliminary hearing when Trump’s attorneys have the opportunity to skewer Bragg’s argument.

But if District Attorneys like Alvin Bragg and his fellow Soros-funded “justice reformers” George Gascon, Kim Gardner, Larry Krasner, and Kim Foxx have their way, political opponents will be prosecuted behind closed doors, with no ability for the public to truly see what’s happening. And we know that many of their accomplices in the media will absolutely look the other way, because they believe that people they disagree with shouldn’t have the rights the Constitution guarantees them