Donald Trump is a Convicted Felon
For the first time in American history, an ex-president has been found guilty of committing crimes
Today twelve jurors unanimously found Donald J. Trump, a former US president and the presumptive 2024 Republican nominee, guilty on all 34 felony charges.
He is no longer simply a criminal defendant. He is now a convicted felon—and will face sentencing on July 11 for his crimes.
This is a first in American history. May 30, 2024. Remember this day.
These 34 convictions by a jury of his peers result from his falsification of business records to hide hush money payments to a porn star and thereby interfere with the 2016 election. We will never know what the outcome of that election would have been if these crimes were not committed.
We can expect that Trump and his enablers will do everything they can to further delegitimize these judicial proceedings, the judge, the prosecutors, the jurors and everyone who participated in this criminal trial. We can be sure they will engage in an onslaught of attacks on our judicial system, which is a bedrock of our democracy and system of government.
The coming weeks will be a fierce and assuredly painful test of our American system and the rule of law. This is about Donald Trump, but it’s more about the legitimacy, credibility and solidity of a government defined by its commitment to laws, not any man.
A year ago, on April 4, 2023, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced his decision to pursue these 34 criminal counts. “These are felony crimes in New York state, no matter who you are. We cannot and will not normalize serious criminal conduct,” Bragg said, underscoring his “solemn responsibility to ensure that everyone stands equal before the law. No amount of money and no amount of power changes that enduring American principle.”
As usual, Donald Trump exited the court today after learning the jurors’ verdict and sourly, despicably attacked the legal system as “rigged” against him and falsely claimed that the real verdict will come on November 5.
But note what it says on the upper facade of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse, just above the entrance Trump walked through every day of this trial, flanked by Secret Service agents: “Equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion.”
For the first time in his life, Donald Trump has been held accountable for his criminal conduct. This is a sad day when we reflect that a man like this ever occupied our White House. This is also a day to celebrate justice and the rule of law.
We can hope that this verdict will convince some of our fellow citizens to abandon this criminal GOP nominee. In any case, let it nourish us as we face the coming attacks by people who care more about supporting a convicted criminal than supporting the survival of the American democratic experiment.
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I like presidents who aren’t convicted felons.
The Wizard of Oz has been revealed to have no heart, no brain, and no courage. The curtain fell because a jury of his peers followed the evidence and found Trump guilty.