The accusation against Trump: the ham sandwich of the Prosecutor's Office

The decision to indict Donald Trump for federal crimes was the product of a grand jury meeting in Miami.MANDEL NGAN (AFP)

Donald Trump has been indicted this Thursday for the handling of classified documents. The Republican, who seeks to return to the White House in 2024, has become the first former president to face criminal charges for federal crimes in the United States. The judicial process swells a long list that the controversial politician drags through the courts. His eventual new run for president has been tested by a grand jury. This is a variation on the traditional system of cuts that we usually see in American movies and series. This route usually translates for the Prosecutor's Office into charges in 95% of cases.

The indictment of Trump, his second so far in 2023, has sent waves through seismic waves in U.S. politics. Especially among the Republican Party. Californian Kevin McCarthy, the speaker of the House of Representatives, has criticized the action, announced by the former president on his social network, Truth Social. "It is unreasonable for the president to impeach the leading candidate of the opposition," the congressman wrote on Twitter.

In reality, Trump's new judicial troubles have been the product of a grand jury assembled in Miami. Unlike ordinary trials, composed of a judge, 12 jurors, the prosecution (prosecution) and the defense, the indictment has been decided by a panel of 23 people. At least twelve have had to vote to indict the former president with seven counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, fraudulent withholding of national security documents and violations of the Espionage Act. If convicted, Trump could face several years in prison.

Grand jury indictments are often controversial. Especially since the accusation is decided under complete secrecy, something that contrasts with the absolute transparency to which the procedures carried out in the courts aspire. Grand jury sessions are conducted over a longer period, which can be between 18 and 36 months. During this time, a prosecutor presents the evidence they have been able to obtain to support the accusation. The jurors, who meet once a week or a couple of times a month, also hear from several witnesses.

All this takes place behind closed doors. A judge or defence counsel for the accused is not present at the proceedings. Unlike ordinary trials, where the prosecution must prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, the goal of prosecutors is to convince the majority of the grand jury that they have a strong enough case to achieve a conviction in court and before a judge, a process that can take months or even years. According to the Department of Justice's Bureau of Statistics, between 95 and 99 percent of cases brought before a grand jury result in an indictment.

This high percentage causes the procedure to be criticized. In March, when news broke that Trump had been charged with paying for the silence of pornographic actress known as Stormy Daniels, former Vice President Mike Pence recalled an old saying popular in law schools. "It can be attributed to a ham sandwich," he said on CNN who is trying to win the Republican nomination in 2024. The former Indiana governor's words to journalist Wolf Blitzer underscored how easy it is to get an indictment via the grand jury.

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