Litman:Trump’s candidacy complicates a potential criminal case against him, but it can’t protect him in the first place
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It’s been a tense and controversial week here in Arkansas. On Monday, Trump called for a temporary ban on federal court rulings against his administration, and on Wednesday, the former state governor suggested that the former reality TV star could be indicted for a criminal case.
On Thursday, two separate petitions were filed to have the two cases tried together. In Trump’s case, which had been filed in New York, the petition is asking that the state try to get special election votes from New York City in November. In Arkansans for Better Campaigns, they argue that both parties should be allowed to try the cases together.
While the cases remain separate, they do share one thing in common: They are both about the future of the United States.
A federal indictment filed against Trump, on behalf of former New York state attorney general Eric Schneiderman, alleges that the president “engaged in a criminal conspiracy to defraud the United States” based on his having a business with a Russian investment bank while he was being investigated for campaign violations. In the New York case, a grand jury in Manhattan is investigating Trump’s claims that he has a “business” in Russia with a company called the “Moscow Company.”
According to the indictment, the president and his lawyers lied under oath when they denied that this company is in Russia. While they claim that they did not have a “business” in Russia, the allegations state that a Russian national by the name of Aleksandr Torshin, who has ties to the Kremlin, and the company had a business relationship during the time Trump was under criminal investigation to influence a “political campaign” for Trump.
“During at time relevant herein, the defendant operated, and still operates under the same name and was connected to the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Russian Government, which has been engaged for many years and is an integral part of the overall Russian political and economic system,” the indictment reads.
