After years of facing several investigations, former US President Donald Trump has been indicted for his alleged role in paying “hush money” to adult film actor Stormy Daniels in 2016 to keep his affair a secret. This is the first time ever that a former US President will face criminal charges. Various reports say that he will face more than 30 charges related to business fraud, but the details have not been made public yet.

Michael Cohen, who was once Trump’s associate, paid $130,000 to the actor in 2016 and officials in The Trump Organization paid Cohen over $420,000 to cover his original payment and then listed them as a legal expense in its books. Trump could face many more charges as he is under investigation for several offences across the country.

Legally, it is always good to hold politicians accountable for their actions, and Trump is no exception. But the problem here is, campaign fund misappropriation is not new.

In March 2022, the Federal Election Commission fined the Democratic Party ($105,000) and Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign ($8,000) for misreporting the money spent on the Steele dossier as “legal services”. This dossier made several serious unverified allegations against Trump and claimed that his campaign colluded with Russia in 2016.

Like it or not, to Trump’s base, he can do no wrong. These charges can be characterised as a “witch hunt” and used to energise supporters. Trump raised $4 million within 24 hours of the indictment. He is currently leading the race to win the Republican candidature, but can he sustain this momentum?

The American media loved covering him too! Various studies show that he received media coverage worth $5 billion in 2016 when he won the presidency. In 2020, his press briefings were widely reported upon but failed to capture the imagination of the voters. If one likes political dramas, one would be well advised to follow American politics more closely.