MOSCOW, April 5. /TASS/. The legal proceedings against former US President Donald Trump are a testament to the rift in the US establishment and this case against the former American leader may ferment a further political crisis with dangerous consequences for the whole country, the board chairman of the Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai discussion club, Andrey Bystritsky, told TASS on Wednesday.

The expert drew attention to yesterday's reports about Trump's two-hour arrest in the United States and the charges brought against him on 34 counts of falsifying the Trump Organization’s financial statements.

"This is a really big event and a very dangerous one for the United States, because it signals a deep split within the establishment and growing friction therein," he stressed.

Notably, the campaign against Trump gained momentum after the former president publicly expressed his intention to run for the US presidency again in 2024. The analyst called this a "big challenge" and did not rule out that the legal proceedings against Trump would ferment a deep political crisis.

"This crisis didn’t start yesterday. In all likelihood, it will grow deeper [against the backdrop of the Trump case]. Things will get dicey," the expert concluded.

On Tuesday, Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying the business records of the Trump Organization to bury allegations of extramarital affairs with porn actress Stormy Daniels that arose during his first White House campaign in 2016. The falsification of financial statements as such does not carry a prison sentence, but it becomes an aggravating circumstance, if the forgery was committed to cover up another crime. According to the prosecution, Trump tried to cover up certain offenses committed during the 2016 campaign. This is the first case ever of criminal charges brought against a former US president.

Trump was kept in custody for about two hours under US procedural law. After his release he flew from New York to Florida.