Lesson Plan: What Does the Indictment of Donald Trump Mean for the Country?

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Donald J. Trump was indicted on March 30 in Manhattan, becoming the first American president, current or former, to be charged with a crime. What does that mean for our democracy? This lesson plan is from The New York TImes; The Learning Network.

Update: Former President Donald J. Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts in a Manhattan courtroom on Tuesday, April 4; and the charges were unsealed in the case. You can read more about his dramatic day in court and the indictment charges.

For the first time in American history, a former president has been charged with felony crimes. After beating back prosecutors’ investigations for years, former President Donald J. Trump was indicted last week by a grand jury in Manhattan.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which brought the charges, is focused on the former president’s involvement in the payment of hush money to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with him. Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s fixer at the time, made the payment during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, began scrutinizing the hush money payments last summer and in January, impaneled a grand jury. The jurors voted to indict Mr. Trump last week.

The Manhattan district attorney’s office, which brought the charges, is focused on the former president’s involvement in the payment of hush money to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who said she had an affair with him. Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump’s fixer at the time, made the payment during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. The district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, began scrutinizing the hush money payments last summer and in January, impaneled a grand jury. The jurors voted to indict Mr. Trump last week.

Lesson plan

Read this article : “A President Faces Prosecution, and a Democracy Is Tested” by Peter Baker, and answer these questions: 

  1. Who is Alvin Bragg?
  2. What are the charges against Donald Trump?
  3. What is the significance of Donald Trump’s indictment?
  4. What is the Justice Department policy regarding indicting sitting presidents?
  5. What does the Constitution say about indicting a president?
  6. What is the Manhattan Criminal Case Against Donald Trump?
  7. What is the significance of Donald Trump’s indictment for American politics and legal history?
  8. The article presents several arguments for pursuing criminal charges against a former president. In your own words, what are they?
  9. The article also outlines several possible consequences of charging a former president. Again in your own words, how would you summarize them?To what extent do you think we should take into account that Mr. Trump is not just a former president but is also currently the leading opposition candidate — and may secure the Republican nomination for president in 2024? Does it matter that Alvin L. Bragg, the district attorney bringing these charges, is a Democrat? Does that make this case automatically political, as some Republicans claim, and therefore illegitimate?
  10. “Some of the most advanced democracies have not shied away from putting their leaders on trial for crimes,” writes Mr. Baker. What examples does he give? What details from American history does he offer to illustrate how the country has treated its presidents in the past?

Listen to the podcast below, and let the students take notes while listening.

Answer the following questions from the Podcast:

  1. Who are Andrew Weissmann and Mary McCord?
  2. What are the charges against Donald Trump?
  3. What is the significance of Donald Trump’s indictment?
  4. What is the Justice Department policy regarding indicting sitting presidents?
  5. What does the Constitution say about indicting a president?
  6. What is the Manhattan Criminal Case Against Donald Trump?

Here are two Opinion pieces that further consider the arguments on both sides. Read them both, perhaps making a note of the points you find most compelling.

In “Even Donald Trump Should Be Held Accountable,” the Times editorial board argues:

The decision to prosecute a former president is a solemn task, particularly given the deep national fissures that Mr. Trump will inevitably exacerbate as the 2024 campaign grows closer. But the cost of failing to seek justice against a leader who may have committed these crimes would be higher still.

However, in “Trump’s Prosecution Has Set a Dangerous Precedent,” Ankush Khardori warns:

But at least one thing seems clear: Mr. Bragg may have been the first local prosecutor to do it, but he will probably not be the last. Every local prosecutor in the country will now feel that he or she has free rein to criminally investigate and prosecute presidents after they leave office. Democrats currently cheering the charges against Mr. Trump may feel differently if — or when — a Democrat, perhaps even President Biden, ends up on the receiving end of a similar effort by any of the thousands of prosecutors elected to local office, eager to make a name for themselves by prosecuting a former president of the United States.

Now that you’ve read more, what do you think? Here are the original questions we posed in the warm-up. Have your answers changed in any way? Why or why not?

  • Should former presidents be held accountable by the justice system for any crimes they commit?

  • Does charging a former president with a felony crime strengthen a democracy by showing that no individual is above the law?

  • Or does it weaken it by setting a dangerous new precedent for political retribution? Where do you stand?

I would love to hear from you