Trump’s history-making criminal indictment should serve as a lesson to the world

Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court for an arraignment on charges stemming from his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York City, U.S., April 4, 2023, in this courtroom sketch REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears in court for an arraignment on charges stemming from his indictment by a Manhattan grand jury following a probe into hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels, in New York City, U.S., April 4, 2023, in this courtroom sketch REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

Published Apr 15, 2023

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The first criminal arraignment of a former US president sees Donald Trump charged with a crime.

This indictment of Trump should serve notice to all that nobody is above the law, not only in America but also around the globe.

The alleged crimes Trump committed will be for the judges to decide, but seeking justice should not be based on different strokes for different folks. There should not be a double standard of judiciary or justice

Former presidents Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama have all violated various categories of laws to promote their agendas or empire-building.

For example, Obama’s unlawful intervention in Libya, a sovereign country, left the nation to spiral into lawlessness and chaos.

Bush lied about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Untruths and lies were accepted to back a disastrous and catastrophic war in Iraq and Afghanistan that not only destroyed both countries but killed many innocent civilians and ruined their homes and livelihoods.

I hope this historic formal arrest of Trump will put right the wrongs of the past few decades and reinforce the saying that nobody is above the law, irrespective of political and corporate connections.

No matter how high-ranking or powerful one may be, no one can sidestep the rule of law, Constitution, international laws and treaties or act contemptibly or separately from the law.

* Mohamed Saeed, Pietermaritzburg.

** The views expressed here are not necessarily those of Independent Media.

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