Chairman Senate Sanjrani terms indictment of former US President Trump ‘unprecedented development’
ISLAMABAD: Chairman of the Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani termed the indictment of the former US President Trump an unprecedented and historical development.
Sanrani expressed his opinion about the arraignment of Donald Trump by the Manhattan grand jury on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records during his 2016 Presidential Campaign.
Through his Twitter handle, Chairman Senate Sanjrani believed that this development would propel the US into uncharted political waters and serve as a litmus test for its judicial system, which is widely recognized for its fairness.
He said that many people would closely follow and monitor this historical development and its outcome, and he would be among them.
What will happen next after the arraignment and arrest of Trump?
Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump strongly reacted to his indictment and termed it an insult to the people of the United States.
The People of New York v. Donald Trump is just the beginning of the case. After Tuesday’s arraignment, the legal process could take months. Here’s what to expect next.
For a defendant who is not in custody, the prosecution must usually turn over all the evidence gathered as part of the investigation (known as “discovery”) to the defense team within 35 days though the statute allows for an extended production schedule in cases where there’s a lot of material. (For defendants in custody, the timeline is 20 days), NBC reported today.
That includes the minutes from the grand jury process, the testimony from every witness (sometimes with redactions), law enforcement notes of anyone interviewed (even if they didn’t testify in front of the grand jury), every exhibit put in front of the grand jury to substantiate the charges in the indictment and other records prosecutors obtained through subpoenas (think telephone records, tapes, things of that nature).
In this case, where there is apparently a mountain of material, prosecutors said in court Tuesday that they would be able to produce the bulk of evidence to the defense within 65 days.
Motions, motions, and more motions
Trump’s defense team has already said it will quickly file motions in court to get the case dismissed before it ever reaches a jury. Generally, the defense side has 45 days to make motions after arraignment, but the judge has the discretion to grant it more time.
Trump has already floated the idea of filing a motion to transfer the case out of Manhattan. Motions to transfer venue are rarely granted, and the defense team would need to convince the judge that Trump can’t get a fair trial in the city because of pretrial publicity.
With the amount of national media attention the case has already generated — not only in New York — it will be challenging to persuade Merchan to move it elsewhere.
