Trump Convicted by Manhattan Jury
These articles are related to the Manhattan Jury's decision to convict Donald Trump of participating in the scheme to cover up payments to three people to protect Trump's election campaign immediately after the "Access Hollywood" release. Refer also to my 05/31/24 Blog post: Trump Held Accountable by Manhattan Jury .
The articles were located on multiple online news websites and illustrate the disparate views on both the trial and verdict.
While Mr. Trump continues to bemoan everything from the charges to his own attorneys; from the DA to the judge; and, from the DOJ to the Biden Administration, he fails to comprehend or care that all United States citizens are subject to the rule of law. Being a former president is not a "get out of jail free" card against crimes committed either before or after his 4-year term.
After sentencing on July 11, 2024, the appeal process will begin. There are 3 levels of appeals, including the New York State Court of Appeals and Supreme Court.
Trump has now lost 5 cases in New York, his former home state: Trump University fraud scam, Trump Organization business fraud, 2 E. Jean Carrol cases (sexual assault and defamation), and this hush-money payment cover-up scheme. There are still 2 Federal (Washington, D.C. January 6th case and Florida documents case) and the Georgia state RICO case pending.
Add this to multiple bankruptcies or business re-organizations (including 2 Atlantic City Casinos), failure to pay his attorneys, and failure to pay contractors.
What we see is a pattern of activity in which Trump does what he wants, whether legal or not. When confronted, he fabricates, deflects, projects, intimidates, endangers, and litigates. Unfortunately, Trump has gotten away with these actions for a very long time making him feel invulnerable to any repercussions. This is no longer the case.
Further the list of close associates, confidants, and attorneys who were sentenced or took plea deals continues to grow. The list includes: multiple individuals involved in various State fake electors schemes; Mike Flynn (Lied to Congress, Pardoned by Trump); January 6th rioters; Michael Cohen (as co-conspirator in the hush-money scheme; lying to Congress); Steve Bannon (Contempt of Congress - defied subpoena); Peter Navarro (Lied to Congress, Pardoned by Trump); Paul Manafort (Bank and Tax Fraud, Pardoned by Trump); Jenna Ellis (Lost Law License); Rudy Giuliani (Lost Law License)
‘The Jury Has Spoken’: Manhattan D.A. Speaks After Trump Guilty Verdict
“While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history,” Mr. Bragg said ..., “we arrived at this trial, and ultimately today at this verdict, in the same manner as every other case that comes through the courtroom doors: by following the facts and the law, and doing so without fear or favor.”
“I did my job, and we did our job,” Mr. Bragg said at a news conference on Thursday after the verdict, when asked about the criticism he received about his handling of the investigation and then the case. “There are many voices out there, but the only voice that matters is the voice of the jury, and the jury has spoken.”
Refer to https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/05/30/nyregion/trump-hush-money-verdict.html to read the "Trump Manhattan Criminal Verdict", count by count.
Source:
The New York Times online
By: Jonah E. Bromwich and Matthew Haag
May 30, 2024
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/30/nyregion/alvin-bragg-trump-trial.html
Trump Convicted: A Just, Sad Day for America
Justice has been served. That’s right, Donald Trump has been found guilty by a jury of his peers and is now a convicted felon. A felon. Let that sink in.
... [I]t is a sad day for our nation. A former president has been convicted of felonies. The potential next president is a convicted felon. If we worry about our standing in the world—and we should—this isn’t a point of pride. Despite this verdict, America still looks like so many struggling democracies, where strongmen violate laws and bend the system to their will.
Source:
The Bulwark online
By: Adam Kinzinger
May 30, 2024
Donald Trump calls hush money trial 'rigged' after being found guilty on all counts
The below article describes all of Trump's complaints and finger pointing after hearing the verdict in the "hush money payment scheme" case. These complaints have been repeated by Trump and his acolytes before, during, and after the verdict. While Trump is certainly allowed to claim his innocence, it's painfully clear that Trump and his devotees do not respect the jury's decision.
Regarding Mr. Trump's claim about a venue change in the 3rd sentence, the trial occurred in the appropriate court nearest to where the criminal activity occurred. This is a legal requirement. Being at "5% or 6%" of recorded voting in the 2020 presidential election is a political issue and has no place in legal proceeding. However, according to a table created by NBC News (online; https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-elections/new-york-president-results/), Trump received 12.3% of the vote in Manhattan in the 2020 election.
Source:
ABC News online
By: Leah Sarnoff
May 30, 2024, 5:57 PM
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-calls-hush-money-trial-rigged-after/story?id=110694162
Trump rails against his guilty verdict, claiming ‘sick people’ are behind his prosecution.
It was billed as an event where Donald J. Trump would deliver remarks about his criminal conviction.
Instead, the former president and presumptive Republican nominee gave a discursive mini-rally on Friday filled with misleading statements about what had taken place inside a Manhattan courtroom a day earlier and familiar campaign attacks against President Biden and his Democratic allies.
At the news conference, Mr. Trump complained about the charges against him and then about his own lawyers, whom he verbally brutalized privately throughout the trial.
Source:
The New York Times online
By: Maggie Haberman and Michael Cold
May 31, 2024, 1:53 p.m.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/us/politics/trump-speech-guilty-verdict.html?smid=url-share
Trump Got Due Process and Then Some
No matter his or his allies’ feelings about the verdict, it was based on evidence, testimony, and argument—not conspiracy.
The concept of the rule of law can be traced back into the mists of history. It took an unmistakable step into the bright sunshine on the Runnymede field along England’s River Thames in 1215 when King John, pressured by powerful noblemen and barons who were tired of him trampling on their rights, signed the Magna Carta, which states that “No freemen shall be taken or imprisoned . . . except by lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.”
This language deprived the king of unilateral power to take someone’s liberty arbitrarily, without grounding in facts or law. It was an important step away from monarchical absolutism, the notion that the divinely empowered sovereign could not be held accountable in the exercise of unlimited authority. Perhaps ironically, this is not unlike the kind of tyrannical power that Trump promises if elected in November.
Source:
The Bulwark online
By: Kim Wehle
June 03, 2024