Donald Trump has been indicted for his alleged involvement in payments made in hush money to an adult film star. While this story has been relevant since his former lawyer’s conviction in 2017, it has become much more nationally relevant in the past few weeks. These charges are also likely to impact any future races for political office, and some of Trump’s allies claim that these charges are politically motivated.

In 2016, a payment was made from Michael Cohen, the former lawyer of Donald Trump, to an adult film star named Stormy Daniels. The payment was alleged “hush money”, used to buy Daniels’s silence about an extramarital encounter between her and Trump. According to Martin Pengelly, of The Guardian, Daniels was paid $130,000 but Cohen was paid $420,000 in “legal expenses”. Later, in 2018, Cohen would plead guilty to 8 counts of tax evasion and campaign finance violations linked to the Daniels payments.

Trump faces over 30 counts related to business fraud according to CNN’s Devan Cole. These charges are all focused on Trump’s business deals, rather than inciting violence or any other alleged crimes directly tied to his presidency.

Trump claimed political motivation behind the charges on March 30. He labeled the prosecution as a “Witch-Hunt” and blamed the Democrats, especially President Biden, for his legal troubles. He also claimed he would defeat the “crooked democrats” and “make America great again”. Since the case was filed in New York, Trump may be tried in Manhattan, Trump’s allies claim he will not receive a fair trial, since Manhattan is a predominantly Democratic-voting borough. Ted Cruz, the Republican Senator of Texas, called the case “unprecedented” and a “weaponization of the justice system.” Amidst harsh backlash from the Republican Party, this case may become much more politicized than it has to be.

Only time will tell what will happen with this case. Many of the details of the trial aren’t yet set in stone, and more details about the charges will be revealed. Currently, the main focus of many is the question of Trump’s future in politics, but, since this case doesn’t need to be a political issue the most peaceful way of handling this trial may be through a purely judicial lens.