My Thoughts on the Trump Guilty Verdict
INTRODUCTION
On May,30,2024, a Jury of 12 New Yorkers unanimously found Donald Trump Guilty on 34 felony counts. They were making Donald Trump the first former president ever convicted of a crime. The Jury selection was not rushed, taking five days with a detailed jury questionnaire, thankfully, and even one Juror who got his news from Truth Social and X as his only sources of information agreed that Donald Trump is guilty on all felony counts. This is an unprecedented moment in American history. American voters will choose between an unpopular incumbent and a challenger who is a convicted felon this November. Donald Trump was convicted of falsifying business records to conceal a campaign finance violation relating to a $130,000 payment to pornographic actress Stephanie Clifford (AKA Stormy Daniels), who received money in exchange for not disclosing an affair with Trump in the 2016 election after the Access Hollywood tape was released that threatened to sink Trump’s 2016 campaign.
MYTHS ABOUT THE TRUMP TRIAL
Many defenders of former President Trump will argue that this is a political persecution brought up by President Biden. Nope, this is not true. This was a case brought up by local prosecutors who did not convict Donald Trump. Judge Juan Merchan did not convict Donald Trump because a jury of everyday Americans decided that, based on the law, Donald Trump was guilty. The jurors took notes and paid close attention throughout the trial, and the Judge was impartial and did his best to mitigate bias. He sustained objects from both the defense and the prosecution, and the judge even said that the prosecution was not allowed to play the Access Hollywood tape on video because it would be prejudicial and contrary to claims the judges would allow a witness to former President Trump to testify if some restrictions were respected. The Judge also did not let anyone off the hook, including the defendant who was subjected to a narrow gag order and was warned not to curse at the witnesses. Now to be clear, there is nothing wrong with disagreeing with the trial verdict, but it does not justify false claims about the trial.
A LOT OF EVIDENCE WAS PRESENTED
The evidence presented included checks that reimbursed Trump's former fixer, Micheal Cohen, who paid off Stormy Daniels with Donald Trump's signature, and in his book, he described how he is a penny pincher and always signs his checks to see where the money is going. Stormy Daniels testified to confirm the affair, and David Pecker, the former editor of the National Enquirer, testified on behalf of the prosecution about how the National Enquirer promoted false stories about his opponents, like the allegation that Ted Cruz’s father killed JFK, for example, to boost Trump's campaign and suppressed negative stories about Trump. Several documents, including checks and invoices, were presented to the defense and prosecution. Both spent hours on closing statements and 22 witnesses from both the defense and the prosecution. One Last thing the people who were victimized by the crime were the American voters who did not see the allegations by Stromy Daniels.
REFERENCES
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/15/nyregion/trump-hush-money-trial-jury.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/nyregion/trump-trial-jury-news.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/nyregion/pecker-mdcougal-daniels-testimony-takeaways.html
