‘Not just another lawsuit’: Swiss papers react to latest Trump charges

Former US President Donald Trump greets supporters before speaking in Des Moines, Iowa, on June 1 Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Court documents made public on Friday detailed 37 criminal counts against former US President Donald Trump. Swiss newspapers think his latest woes are “incomparably more serious” than his previous brushes with the law.

Charges include violations of the Espionage Act, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements after he left the White House in 2021. Evidence in the indictment includes documents, photos, text messages, audio and witness statements. National security law experts said this made a strong case for prosecutors’ allegations that Trump illegally took the documents and then tried to cover it up.

“This is not just another lawsuit against Donald Trump,” the Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) said in an editorialExternal link. “It’s true that his legal problems have already come to a head in recent months with the first indictment of a former president in the affair of hush money for a porn actress and the conviction for sexual assault. The case of embezzlement of secret documents, however, is infinitely more dangerous for the former president.”

Of all the criminal charges against Trump, it also appears to be the most legally valid, the paper reckoned. “It is now proven that the former president withheld highly classified files – despite first the National Archives and then investigators trying to obtain them for months. What is decisive, therefore, is whether he acted knowingly and willingly in doing so – and there is some evidence to suggest he did.”

Even if a possible conviction remains a long way off, the NZZ said most Americans were “fed up” with the constant drama surrounding Trump. “Whether the courtrooms in New York, Miami and possibly Atlanta are suitable as a political stage in the intensive phase of the election campaign is also questionable. In any case, the trials will often keep Trump from making big appearances and shaking hands with cheering fans.”

Trump, 76, who is a candidate to run again in the 2024 election, has proclaimed his innocence and called the case a witch hunt orchestrated by political enemies.

Simple calculation

“Trump wants to blow up the rule of law,” was the headline of the editorialExternal link in the Tages-Anzeiger, which pointed out that although this case was “incomparably more serious” for Trump than the New York trial over hush money, the former president’s defence strategy would be the same.

“Trump made both charges public before the judiciary did. He wants to be quicker to set the tone of the debate on them. The proceedings are purely political, he claims. As transparent as this defence strategy is, it seems to be working well. Trump has recently consolidated his support among the Republican base.”

The calculation is simple, the paper said. “The more voters Trump unites behind him, the harder it will be for the judiciary to stand up to him. Once again, the man has placed himself above the law; once again, he is attempting nothing less than to blow up the rule of law and thus the US political system.”

‘Champion of forgotten America’

What will Trump’s latest legal problems mean for his re-election prospects? Will he once again benefit from the media spectacle to attack the legal authorities and mobilise his supporters?

The Tribune de Genèvepointed outExternal link that there’s nothing to prevent Trump from running – and being elected – if he is indicted or even convicted. Ironically, “if he were convicted of espionage in particular, he could continue his campaign from prison”, said Laurence Nardon, an expert on the US at IFRI, the French Institute of International Relations.

“Trump is the champion of forgotten America, of white people who have lost everything,” he told the paper. “The Trumpist base adores him and every time he is convicted, it’s proof that he’s the victim of a plot by the country’s elites.”

Trump has already said he will travel to Miami on Tuesday to make his first federal court appearance. “He’ll be doing everything to show that he’s a victim and to raise money,” Nardon said. “As he always does.”