NEW YORK, CMC – Caribbean-American Democratic Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke says, “No one is above the law,” as former United States President Donald J. Trump was arraigned in a Federal District court in Miami on Tuesday.
Trump, who faces charges that he had put national security secrets at risk and obstructed investigators, surrendered to federal authorities in Miami on Tuesday.
“Ours is a government of laws and not of men,” Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC)
“And no one, including a former president, is above the law. For a second time, a grand jury has found probable cause to indict former President Trump,” said Clarke, the representative for the 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, New York.
“But this time, on counts related to his possession of, and refusal to return, classified documents, including those of national security concern. In America’s judicial system, every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and Mr. Trump will have the same constitutional rights as every other American citizen,” said Clarke.
Trump, who has been indicted twice since leaving the White House, entered a not-guilty plea through one of his two new lawyers.
The former president, who did not speak at his arraignment, is charged with 37 criminal counts, including seven violations of federal law.
Federal prosecutors have also charged Trump and his aide, Walt Nauta, with “conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding government documents, corruptly concealing records, concealing a document in a federal investigation, and scheming to conceal their efforts.”
In early April, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree.
The indictment surrounds Trump’s reimbursements to his former fixer, Michael D. Cohen, the prosecution’s key witness, for a hush-money payment to pornographic star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump pleaded not guilty at his arraignment in Manhattan.
“If America is to remain a vibrant democracy and be a nation of laws, our laws must be applied universally. The presidency is meant to represent our highest ideals as Americans. To witness an individual who once held that sacred title fall to such contemptible lows will leave a scar that has not quickly healed.
“But we must find reassurance that our justice system has refused to allow former President Trump to escape the consequences of his alleged actions,” Clarke said.
CMC/nk/2023
In a 30-minute speech Tuesday night at his golf course in New Jersey, Trump declared: “I did everything right, and they indicted me.”
and then 