Article by Brendan Flanagan | Owl Staff
Protestors stand in New York City in front of the building where Donald Trump is being indicted. (Photo contributed by Peter Dennis)
Donald J Trump is the first former president to be indicted. His first charge occurred on April 4, 2023 under 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. Since then, Trump has been federally indicted on 37 different charges. As of June 12, 2023, Georgia and the Justice Department are also continuing their investigations on the 2020 Election disruption and the January 6 Capitol Siege respectively.
Owl Media spoke with HCC students for more insight on the topic.
London Laury, a Political Science student, stated “Trump has been getting away with so much on the big stage, something needed to really bring him down to earth.”
Mass Communications student, Megan Newsome, shared a different viewpoint.
“I feel like everyone’s bashing him for something that other presidents or people in politics have done,” Newsome states. “A lot of people are giving him a lot of grief just because they don’t like him, and I just don’t think that’s fair.”
Dr. Stephanie Hallock, a Political Science professor at HCC, weighed in to give some information about the situation.
“If Trump is indicted and convicted on federal charges, those can be pardoned by any future president” states Hallock. “If Trump is convicted in Manhattan, in the state of New York, or in the state of Georgia, those cannot be pardoned. State convictions would be upheld no matter what.”
Trump’s presidency was filled with controversy. During his inauguration, both impeachments, and even recently with his attempt to be re-elected. Americans were divided.
One person who was on the front lines throughout was Peter Dennis, a Washington D.C. based attorney and activist. Owl Media met with him to get his thoughts.
“I believe that he needs to be accountable for the most serious crimes, not the least serious crimes that he’s been charged with,” states Dennis.
“We rely a lot on cable news, the two-party system.” Dennis adds, “There’s a good amount of manipulation of the masses through that system. We’re told what to believe, and we’re given the information necessary to support those narratives.”
While the situation is still progressing, HCC students are looking more into it with their newfound information. “It’s a good example that nobody is above the law, not even the president.”