One president, six investigations. Do we have the right facts?
What does it mean for our country when an ex-president gets investigated? Currently, Donald Trump is currently facing not one, not two, but six investigations across the United States for numerous alleged cases of fraud and forgeries. For those of us that haven’t been staying updated, this is a turning point in our country’s policies: will the former president be justly prosecuted?
Prosecutor Fani T. Willis from the state of Georgia is currently pursuing legal action against Trump for his actions in the state in the months after the 2020 election, which culminated in a January 2nd, 2021 phone call in which the former president asked Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” the 11,780 votes necessary to swing the state from Joseph R. Biden Jr. Willis, who is Atlanta’s first Black district attorney, has been conducting a broad investigation into Trump’s actions in order to potentially prosecute him for election fraud and intent to undermine the 2020 election. It is still unclear whether or not the former president will be prosecuted for the imputations, but Willis’s determination and wide net of resources may be a sign of an arraignment happening soon enough to put Trump and his supporters in legal peril.
Trump also faces investigation from the newly-created January 6th Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives for his role in the January 6th, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Over a series of hearings this past summer, which are slated to continue on September 28th, the Committee looked into Trump's involvement in the attack and the numerous efforts he took to hold onto power. The decision of this investigation will not only decide whether he will be potentially prosecuted for his actions, but also whether he will be barred from running for office in 2024.
Merrick Brian Garland, another lawyer and appellate judge–a judge who deals with appeals and reversals of judgment–is also currently investigating the former president. His team has, similarly to Fani T. Willis, taken the angle of investigating both Trump’s effort to overturn the election and his fundraising campaigns. However, Garland has also spent months prosecuting hundreds of people who stormed the Capitol and has even interviewed or brought before juries the White House aides who may have supported Trump in his endeavors.
The final investigation that is currently underway is the prosecution of Donald J. Trump’s failure to return classified government documents, which he took with him when leaving the White House for Mar-a-Lago. He then proceeded to lie about returning them before a court, and now faces the possibility of legal prosecution for the obstruction of justice.
Years have passed since Trump left office, yet the actions of our former president continue to haunt not just us but also the entire legal system. How do we collect enough information to find out what really happened during the last election? As a country built upon the ideal of fair and free elections, these latest developments may very well change our legal system as a whole, and shake our faith in the sanctity of our democratic values. Months from now, measures may be taken to prevent this sort of action in the executive branch of our government ever again, but until Donald J. Trump is put on the stand, we may never know what truly happened in January 2021. Be open to new information and stay updated on the latest developments–after all, our ability to justly examine these accusations may soon be the most important factor in securing a safe, stable nation.
Kristina Kianovski is a senior in Staten Island Technical Highschool. She is an aspiring lawyer and is passionate about the feminist movement, human rights and literature. Kristina is a strong believer in reaching those around us through writing in order to create real change in our communities. Outside of writing and politics, Kristina is a part of multiple Ukrainian and slavic cultural clubs in her school.