Guilty–Trump the felon!
In a historic verdict, 12 jurors decided former President Donald Trump was guilty on all 34 counts of falsifying records in his criminal hush-money trial. It took the jury around a dozen hours to stamp Trump as the first ex-president to become a felon. He is to be sentenced July 11, and speculation abounds on how Judge Juan Merchan handles this unprecedented development.
According to those who witnessed the proceedings, Trump never looked up but, as expected, outside the courtroom he raged, calling the verdict a “disgrace,” that the “judge was corrupt,” and that the “trial never should have occurred…It was rigged.”
He said the real verdict would come from the people on Nov. 5 during the presidential election. But in advance of that date, a microcosm of the American voters have assessed the evidence, heard the witnesses, the closing arguments of the prosecution, and the defense of an outcome that most likely will be appealed.
Todd Blanche, Trump’s attorney, said during an appearance on CNN they would appeal the verdict “as soon as we can.” During the trial, they had tried several times to have the judge call it a mistrial or insist on a change of venue, some of which will probably be the basis of the appeal.
RELATED: Trump’s guilty on all 34 counts, but he can still run for President?!
The appeal process could take months, possibly years, to complete, which means the sentencing process could be in limbo long after the election is over. What this all could mean for Trump’s fate is unclear, as is the impact it would have on his presidential quest.
Several publications have recalled the presidential bids of Eugene V. Debs (1920) and Lyndon LaRouche (1992), both of whom were behind bars when they ran, and thus Trump, a convicted felon, could do the same. Later there could be developments that defy constitutional authority.
“12 everyday jurors vowed to make a decision based on the evidence and the law and the evidence and the law alone,” Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg said. “Their deliberations led them to a unanimous conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant Donald J. Trump is guilty.”
Bragg added: “While this defendant might be unlike any other in American history, we arrived at this trial ultimately in the same manner as every other case.” (Even as this story was being posted, Trump held a press conference Friday morning, and it would be redundant to repeat what he has said since the case and trial began—most of it rambling lies and misinformation.)
Attorney Michael Cohen, Trump’s former “fixer,” and whose testimony may have been decisive for the jurors, said in a statement that it was “an important day for accountability and the rule of law. While it has been a difficult journey for me and my family, the truth always matters.”
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