Daily Times

Justice had been closely tailing behind Donald Trump for a while but now that he ran out of corners to turn and crowds to hide behind, the course of American history was finally altered on Tuesday. The sight of the first-ever president being charged with federal crimes at a Florida courthouse was ugly, and the sea of angry red baseball caps was determined to add to the discomforting aftertaste. Following the expectations to the dot, Mr Trump insisted on his innocence; performing the tried-and-tested bit about him being victimised by a biased, politicised legal system for the millionth-and-one time. There are 37 counts, to be precise, which include everything from wilful retention of national defence information, conspiracy to obstruction of justice, false representations failure to return the reams of classified documents. If the law actually takes its course, he may be handed a decades-long sentence. However, the trial does not need to be concluded to become historic albeit punctuated with strangeness. It does not take much to hazard a guess about the reaction from millions who supported him through a record-breaking election, a bizarre term in office and still wish to see him head the country. No matter what the facts on the ground may scream, they have chosen to stand behind their leader and presume his innocence just because his all-caps kicker on social media declared so. The grandiose of his spectacle and the emphatic touch to his appeal, despite tugging at heartstrings in all corners, cannot overturn facts. Lies remain lies, regardless of how many times and how loudly they are thundered. Therefore, Mr Trump’s arraignment should be celebrated as a big win for the American legal system and its democratic fabric. By choosing to go after a man who commanded influence over the unprecedentedly large vote back in the history of presidential elections, the country has spelt out its priority for the rule of law. Now, he may dig within his deep pockets and direct his array of lawyers to try every trick in the playbook for his rescue. He may even succeed, But the legal system has decided: laws apply to everyone *