The arrest and arraignment of the immediate past president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, to face criminal charges is seldom heard of in developing countries like ours. The case over ‘hush money’ paid to a porn star has set the stage for a hell of a trial that will try the rule of law itself, especially in teasing out a criminal offence against the State from political persecution of a potential tough customer in the 2024 presidential race. Whichever way it ends – convicted or discharged of the 34-count charges – the symbolism and the majesty of the rule of law in a democracy should not be lost on the highs, lows, and even the self-styled public office holders in Nigeria.

In another drama from the stable of American Politics, millions of global audience stayed glued to their television sets recently, to watch the spectacle of the arrest and arraignment of Donald Trump in a Manhattan courtroom. His offence, this time around, is his involvement in the payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels, a known porn star or ashawo in local parlance, who said she had an affair with President Trump. While the accused has denied the affair, evidence abounds that Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s fixer at the time, made the payment during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, began scrutinising the hush money payments last summer and in January, impaneled a grand jury. The jurors had voted to indict Mr. Trump on 34 felony counts. While hush money is not inherently illegal, the prosecutors could argue that the $130,000 payout effectively became an improper donation to Mr. Trump’s campaign, under the theory that it benefited his candidacy because it silenced Ms Daniels. Trump has pleaded not guilty to the count charges

PHOTO: [FILE] Former US president Donald Trump appears in court at the Manhattan Criminal Court in New York on April 4, 2023. (Photo by Andrew KELLY / POOL / AFP)

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