Just as Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky or Richard Nixon and the Watergate scandal have made it into the Advanced Placement (AP) United States (U.S.) Government textbook, there is no doubt that former President Donald Trump’s arraignment will be in the exact same chapter: The Mass Media and the Political Agenda. Unlike former U.S. presidents, Trump’s arraignment on April 4 goes beyond scandals and flashy headlines. It sends a message to the nation’s leaders: no one is above the law. 

The average high school student will be taught about transparency in the government in their social science classes, including all the legal ways in which presidents can be held accountable. Yet in recent history, it seems these checks and balances are ineffective or nonexistent. However, Trump’s case is a true show of the justice system at work. His indictment has proven that U.S. politicians and the judicial system still value transparency. 

Trump is the first president in history to be indicted, meaning he is the first to be tried for a serious crime–unlike Nixon where 40 federal officials were indicted and he was pardoned. On Tues. April 4, the public learned he was being charged with 34 felonies of falsifying business records. The Manhattan District Attorney argued that the hush money payments Trump gave to women to keep quiet about an affair were covered up by false business records, to clean up his character for the 2016 election. 

These hush money payments have been in the public knowledge for almost his entire presidency. In fact, The Wall Street Journal reported on the $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels back in 2018. For years now, it has been probed and speculated whether or not these payments were interfering with the election. Pursuing these accusations in court, is a show of holding politicians accountable and upholding them to a standard of transparency.   

Trump’s arraignment brings wealthy people back down to earth in the eyes of the average person. Especially in today’s world, it is obvious that the living standards of wealthy politicians and celebrities are much higher than the average American. While people are fighting over the last batch of overpriced eggs at the grocery store, celebrities are sipping mimosas by their billion dollar NYC penthouse pools. 

This case proves that money can’t buy out of the justice system, something the people need to hear during a time when it seems the rich become more privileged in every aspect. In other words, there are still checks on the rich politicians as emphasized by this case. 

On the other hand, it is still undetermined whether or not Trump will be found guilty in this case. While paying someone to keep quiet about an affair is not illegal, interfering with the election by withholding information about his business records is. Some say it is unlikely that Trump will be found guilty, while others say this is just ‘constitutional cancel culture,’ as Trump’s lawyers once called his impeachment trial. 

Whatever the verdict may be, this case has opened up a Pandora’s box of presidential indictments. New York set the precedent that indicting a president is not completely out of the box; that it is possible. This will lead to other state prosecutors indicting Trump for his actions. For example, there are murmurs of Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani I. Willis filing charges on Trump for his interference in the 2020 Georgia Election. 

Even more importantly, Trump’s case in New York could open the door for his indictment over the January 6th insurrection; a time when our country seemed most vulnerable and unsafe, a feeling incited by our own president. That day cast a dark shadow over American politics and instead of burying it six feet under, Trump’s New York indictment opens the nation to the possibility that he will be held accountable for his actions.

Politicians sit on a high pedestal overlooking the country. In schools, students are taught that despite this perceived power, politicians have checks, that they are simply representatives for the people. While it seems that wealthy politicians are above the law, considering what they have gotten away with in recent years, Trump’s indictment holds the justice system true to what students are being taught in their textbooks.