Maylin Hernandez, a political science lecturer, breaks down New York State’s indictments against former President Donald Trump during an Oct. 20 panel discussion in Health Affairs Building East on the Edinburg campus. Over 50 people attended the discussion. Jose Medina/THE RIDER
Five UTRGV political science faculty unpacked Donald Trump’s legal entanglements during a recent panel discussion on the Edinburg campus.
“This is unprecedented; we are witnesses to history,” political science Lecturer Robert Velez told the 50 attendees gathered Oct. 20 in the Health Affairs Building East on the Edinburg campus and via Zoom in Brownsville.
The panel, which was sponsored by the Political Science Department and Political Science Association, consisted of five professors who discussed the:
–New York business records case
–Florida classified document case
–Washington, D.C., case related to the Jan. 6, 2021, protest in the Capitol
–Fulton County, Georgia, Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations case
“Part of what makes people particularly interested in this specific indictment is because it deals with a sex worker,” said political science Lecturer Maylin M. Hernandez, referring to the case in New York.
Trump was charged in a New York State Supreme Court with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree, for alleged “hush money” payments to former lawyer Michael Cohen, according to Hernandez.
“They were claimed by the Trump Organization on their official business ledger as being part of payments for a legal retainer with Michael Cohen,” she said. “[But] there is no known retainer contract that proves there was a retainer in place.”
The payments were to keep adult film star Stormy Daniels silent about alleged sexual encounters with Trump, and to conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election, according to Hernandez.
“They’re claiming, and I think based on the information we have so far, that it’s absolutely probable that Donald Trump committed falsifying business records,” she said, referring to the New York case.
Velez broke down the Florida federal indictment case in which classified documents were confiscated from the Mar-a-Lago Club, which is owned by Trump.
“One of the laws that has been mentioned … by the former president himself … is that all of these documents are under the rubric of the Presidential Records Act, which basically means he can do whatever he wants, but that’s not the case,” the lecturer said.
The indictment states that Trump risked national security by removing hundreds of classified documents from the White House and storing them in a haphazard manner at Mar-a-Lago, according to Velez.
“The Presidential Records Act, basically, says any records that are generated due to what the president does in his job are public records,” he said. “They’re not private, so once the president leaves office … those records are yours … the American taxpayer.”
Álvaro J. Corral, a political science assistant professor, said he read U.S. Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith’s 45-page indictment regarding the events of Jan. 6, 2021, in the U.S. Capitol and would provide the audience with a “CliffsNotes” version.
In the indictment, Trump was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, witness tampering, conspiracy against the rights of citizens and an attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, according to Corral.
“As of this week, there’s been a gag order by the federal judge, essentially saying [Trump is] not allowed to go on social media … and disparage members of the DOJ, or the opposing counsel,” Corral said.
The trial is set for March 4, 2024, which Corral pointed out is one day before the Texas primary, saying that Texans will be casting their vote in the midst of the trial.
“So what is the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations or RICO statute,” said political science Associate Professor Natasha Altema-McNeely.
“Well, it was developed by the federal government, and it was developed in the context of dealing with and trying to pursue charges against organized crime, which many might recognize as the mafia,” Altema-McNeely said.
In Georgia, Trump is facing 13 racketeering charges, which include making false statements, forgery and soliciting a public officer to violate their oath, according to Altema-McNeely.
“Back in August of this year, former President Trump and 18 other individuals were charged. … Every single one of them is counted with a charge of RICO,” she said. “Because … the foundation of RICO is establishing the idea that these groups of people are a part of a criminal enterprise and then broadly speaking, and a little bit indirectly, that they are all involved with a conspiracy.”
Political science Professor Nicholas Kiersey presented a counterpoint and proposed that this is a case of “Trump derangement system,” a concept which he explained meant that the former president sat outside of the political norm, and thus had to be rejected by the political system.
Allegations on his behavior grew into obsessions because he did not behave as a president should, according to Kiersey.
“Other U.S. presidents have done infinitely worse things and do not trigger this visceral response, where … media institutions and political institutions just felt compelled to reject this guy from office,” he said.
Kiersey said he is not defending Trump.
“I’m just here to argue the point that obsessing with Trump’s legal violations, you have to keep them in perspective,” he said.
A factor that everyone should keep in perspective, Kiersey said, is who really benefits from this theatrical representation of Trump.
“What I want to suggest … is that this is kind of a spectacle to make you afraid and to keep you obedient,” he said. “It’s not that Trump did not do anything wrong. … What I want to suggest to you is that he did, more or less, the same amount of bad stuff that any other U.S. president has ever done.”
The Rider asked the panel if Trump wins the presidency, can he pardon himself.
“He can only pardon [himself] for federal crimes, so those state charges, like the ones in New York or in Georgia, if he’s convicted on those counts, he wouldn’t be able to pardon himself,” Velez said. “Only a state governor could pardon someone convicted of state convictions.”
Altema-McNeely added, “In Georgia, the governor can’t do it, either. It’s actually a panel that handles all the pardons and paroles. So, if they try to staff the membership in their favor, it’s still going to be very hard because those members on the panel have staggered terms.”
