Hi Friend,
Say it with me now: convicted felon Donald J. Trump. Thanks to the wise deliberation of a New York jury, the disgraced ex-president has been found guilty of thirty-four felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush money payouts he made to cover up an extramarital affair with a pornstar. No matter what happens next in his sordid story, this conviction has been etched into the history books, an indelible and prominent piece of this odious man’s biography.
Beyond the simple pleasure of seeing justice done, we can also take heart in the fact that polling done before the verdict was delivered showed that many Americans will not vote for a convicted Trump. An Emerson poll this past month found that 25% of voters said that they’d be less likely to vote for Trump if he were a felon. Well, now he is. If even a portion of those people follow through and refuse to vote for him, it would be more than enough to crush his MAGA movement at the ballot box.
Predictably, Trump took his conviction poorly. Immediately after the verdict was delivered, he emerged from the courthouse in a huff to bellow into the cameras. He trotted out the usual complaints, focusing in particular on the refusal of his request for a venue change. He insisted that it was unfair to try him in New York because he’s so unpopular there. Of course, the trial had to take place in New York since the crimes were committed in New York inside that big gaudy building with his name hanging out front.
Tell Judge Merchan to send Trump to jail for his 34 felony convictions!
We also saw him wield what is sure to be his preferred rhetorical cudgel going forward. Trump complained that his conviction was the result of a political witch hunt orchestrated by Joe Biden and that the entire prosecution was a purely partisan endeavor. The problem with this tidy little narrative is that Biden’s Justice Department actually declined to prosecute this case. The state of New York brought it.
The truth is that beneath all of the media attention and political sheen, this was a simple criminal case. If Donald Trump didn’t want to be be prosecuted for falsifying business records he could have simply chosen to not falsify business records. He knew that he was committing a crime when he did it and that’s exactly why he had his fixer Michael Cohen handle the dirty work. If we want to chase the chain of culpability back even further, Trump — a man lionized by the Evangelical right — could have simply not cheated on his wife.
The sentencing date has been set for July 11th and while it’s fun to imagine Trump in an orange jumpsuit, all that really matters is Election Day. Sending Trump to prison would be nice, but keeping him out of the White House is absolutely imperative. If we let this fascist criminal back into power our democracy will be stripped for parts. Felon Trump is even more dangerous because now he knows that he’s playing for everything. There’s no going home to play golf at Mar-a-Lago if he loses. This election decides everything for him — and for us.
Stay focused, stay energized.
Brian
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