Former President Donald J. Trump was found guilty today on all 34 felony counts against him by all of the jury of his peers. This is the first time in American history that a former president has been convicted on felony counts.
The rhetorical spin has already reached a dizzying pace. Trump emerged from the courthouse in New York telling reporters the trial was “rigged” and it was a “disgraceful trial.” Trump said, “I am an innocent man.” Not really. Trump is now a convicted felon and that will certainly be used by the Biden Campaign, but will it change any minds?
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Speaking to reporters after the guilty verdict was read in court, Trump said the trial was “all done by the Biden Administration,” yet there is zero evidence to support Trump’s claim. Sunday on The Fox News Channel, host Shannon Bream shocked Trump’s attorney and I’m sure much of the Fox News audience when she correct Trump’s attorney and reminded her that this was a state trial that was not linked to Biden’s DOJ. Trump bashed Bream for her comments, but offered zero evidence that he was right and she was wrong.
Trump vowed to fight to the end and predicted “we will win” and said “we will fight for our Constitution.”
Donald Trump was found guilty of falsifying business documents to hide payments meant to keep quiet stories that Trump had sex with a porn star while his wife, Melanie, was pregnant with their child. The action was taken by Trump in an attempt to influence the election. Any politician guilty of this action should be held accountable. Why should the invitation be issued to politicians that it’s acceptable for them to use fraudulent means in an effort to change the outcome of an election? How is that acceptable on any level by any politician – Republican or Democrat?
What should be alarming to MAGA supporters and right-wing radicals is that Trump was convicted on all 34 counts by all of the jurors. There was not one juror who heard the evidence presented in court who did not agree that Trump was guilty on all counts. I was surprised by the overwhelming guilty verdict on all 34 counts and this will be a historic stain on the history of Donald Trump. His son, his wife, his family will all have to live with the reality that their father, husband, loved one is now a convicted felon. Think what they want in their own minds, but Trump has been found guilty by the court system.
The former president faces a $5,000 fine for each of the 34 counts and 4 years in prison for each count. Wil Trump actually go to prison? He has no previous convictions and that should work in his favor, but I can’t help but think if this were an average citizen, prison might be more likely. The other question is: Should Trump go to prison?
The judge will sentence Trump on July 11, which is just 4 days before the beginning of the Republican National Convention.
For those who will argue that this case was politically motivated – sure, that’s a possibility, but making the personal decision to run for the presidency carries with it the guarantee of intense scrutiny and anyone making that decision should expect that they will be watched and anything they do that borders on being illegal will come back to haunt them. One wonders if Trump, who had manipulated so many people in the business world, thought he could do it with a situation involving an upcoming election. Trump learned the answer to that question today.
America should hold politicians accountable for their actions. Donald Trump was held accountable for his actions, but this may have no impact on the polls or the election in November and many Trump supporters will allow their bias towards Trump to drown out the realty of the guilty verdict. Many will discredit the courts and the jury system, but they will depend on the courts and the same jury system to try to nail Hunter Biden and maybe even President Biden to actions they believe are illegal.
But rising above all of the rhetoric will be the fact that today, for the first time in the history of America, a former president was convicted on felony charges – and that former president is Donald J. Trump.