Below is my column in The Hill on the ongoing deliberations in the Trump trial. The instructions in the case raised concerns that the deliberations could become a legal version of a canned hunt, where the prey is trapped in a cage or fenced in areas to be dispatched. Elements of the instructions are disturbing in reducing what is required to convict the former president.
Here is the column:
Today the jury began its deliberations in the trial of former president Donald Trump. Before jurors left, however, Judge Juan Merchan framed their deliberations in a way that seemed less like a jury deliberation than a canned hunt.
For many of us, the Trump trial has seemed otherworldly, a vaguely familiar proceeding where common elements of a trial seem to have been flipped.
Even before the jury instructions, the trial was controversial for both liberal and conservative commentators. At the start of closing arguments, most honest observers were still wondering what the prosecutors were alleging as to the crime that Trump was allegedly concealing with the falsification of business records.
Then came the closing arguments. Around the country, it is standard for the government to go first with a closing to allow the defense to respond. The government is then given the privilege of a rebuttal after the defense rests. In New York, the defense must go first, giving the government free rein over its closing with no risk of contradiction from the defense. With the exception of objections, any abusive or improper arguments are left to the judge to address.
In the case of Judge Merchan, that protection was all but absent as the prosecution engaged in flagrant violations from offering testimony on unestablished facts to directly contradicting prior instructions. In one of the most egregious moments, Prosecutor Joshua Steinglass told the jury that it is an established fact that former Trump counsel Michael Cohen committed a federal election law violation on the direct orders of Donald Trump. Merchan had repeatedly said that Cohen’s earlier plea could not be used to imply the guilt of Trump. Merchan overruled an objection and Steinglass proceeded, as he did earlier in trial, to repeat the false statement.
Merchan did nothing as Steinglass told the jury that Hope Hicks cried in court because she knew that she had destroyed Trump’s defense (Hicks has never explained why she cried). Merchan did nothing as Steinglass falsely told the jury that the media and political campaigns do not do what Trump did in seeking to kill and plant stories. (This ignored, for example, that the Clinton campaign did precisely that repeatedly in the very same election, including with the false Russian collusion allegations).
It was only when Steinglass repeatedly instructed the jury on the law that Merchan finally sustained objections, at the end of his closing arguments.
So going into the deliberations, the court allowed the jury to be told repeatedly that there were federal campaign violations committed by Trump. That is not true. Putting aside that the federal government found no basis to impose a civil fine, let alone bring a criminal charge, the court barred a legal expert who could have shown that no such violation occurred. The jury does not know that. Instead, the judge allowed them to be repeatedly told a false fact that could make it difficult for anyone to acquit.
However, the instructions then went in for the kill and turned the jury deliberations into a canned hunt.
Consider just a few highlights from the curious aspects of these deliberations.
First, the judge has ruled that the jury does not have to agree on what actually occurred in the case. Merchan ruled that the government had vaguely referenced three possible crimes that constitute the “unlawful means” used to influence the election: a federal election violation, the falsification of business records, and a tax violation. The jurors were told that they could split on what occurred, with four jurors accepting each of the three possible crimes in a 4-4-4 split. The court would still consider that a unanimous verdict so long as they agree that it was in furtherance of some crime.
Second, the judge said that he would instruct the jury on the law but then omitted the key elements that established there was no federal campaign violation. Indeed, the blocked legal expert, Brad Smith, the former chair of the Federal Election Commission, was going to testify that this could not have been a federal election violation. Moreover, even if Trump’s legal settlement money could be viewed as a federal campaign contribution, it could not have been part of a conspiracy to influence the election since any reporting of a contribution would have had to occur after the election.
Third, not only can the jury disagree as to what occurred, but one of the three crimes is so circular as to produce vertigo in the jury room. The prosecutors zapped a dead misdemeanor back into life by claiming a violation under New York’s election law 17-152. The argument is that the crime was committed to further another crime as an unlawful means to influence the election. However, that other crime can be the falsification of business records. So the jury (or some jurors, at least) could find that some documents were falsified as an unlawful means of falsifying other documents.
Finally, Merchan is allowing conviction based on a “general intent” to defraud “any person or entity,” a dangerously vague concept in this novel criminal case. Merchan has largely stuck to the standard jury instructions but this case is anything but standard. With an ambiguous claim of “influencing” an election, a general intent instruction without better definition to this case can be an invitation for bias.
Given the instructions and the errors in this trial, it would seem that an acquittal is almost beyond the realm of possibility. That leaves either a hung jury or a conviction. However, the framing of this case and failure to protect the rights of the defendant have undermined the perceived legitimacy of the proceedings and any possible verdict.
With Trump in a tight cage, Merchan just left it for the jury to deliver the coup de grace. We will see. I remain hopeful that a couple jurors will balk at this manufactured criminal theory. Canned hunts are great for trophies, not so much for trials.
Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School.
The conman’s greatest weapon is that the conned can never bring themselves to admit they’ve been conned.
A smart person, once conned, will never be conned again.
That feeling that nothing makes sense is because Fox News and Newsmax told you what you and Trump wanted to hear instead of what was actually happening in the trial.
Try to find another news source and you’ll find out why he was convicted.
..actually, and unfortunately, Anonymous from the darkside, the only thing that makes no sense is why you are forever camping out here, forever trolling and cluttering this site your back-handed MSNBS nonsensical delusions…
TRUMP SUPPORTERS:
We know you’re uncomfortable. Things don’t add up. You’re conflicted. What you feel is COGNITIVE DISSONANCE. We’ll be straight with you: He was never a builder. He was never competent. He was never “one of you.” He is a lifelong criminal whose only skills are committing the con, selling the grift, engineering the fraud, and avoiding accountability. And “The Apprentice” was ONLY A TV SHOW.
Stop the defiance and come back to the light. Open your minds to truth, however unpleasant. And truth is, you feel uncomfortable because you’ve been played.
YAWN
8% inflation
8% interest rates
You are correct – things do not add up.
You promised a rape – and you delivered a nut job hag who is not credible on left wing media – and yet you got what you wanted out of the courts.
Bill Clinton’s victims are aghast. You never beleived any of them.
You promised business fraud an d delivered nipple judge Enmoron and a case that nearly every developer in the country said was garbage.
You promised a crime – and you delivered this garbage ?
Yes, things do not add up.
The party that brough us the collusion delusion – the FBI trying to take out a sitting president.
The party that brought uas massive election fraud and the Russian Disinformation nonsense – and the FBI and federal agencies censoring the political speech of ordinary people.
The party that brought us the ministry of disinformation,
That brought us a demented fool that does not remember when his own son died – not even within several years, or when he was vice president or when he was elected president.
The party that brought us the BLM riots, that Brought us the buring of St. Johns, that brought us breaking down 20ft tall fences arround the WH and pelting police with rocks.
The party that brought us Portland riots and CHAS, and defund the police.
The Party that brought us Fanni Willis
And you think there is cognative disonance on the right ?
Look in the mirror.
Regardless the US is in the midst of an epidemic of depression and anxiety.
The rates for those under 30 are double the rest of us.
The rates for White women are double the rest of us
The rates for those on the left are double the rest of us.
If you are an over 50 White male conservative – the average is single digits anxiety and depression.
If you are under 30 white female on the left – your rate of anxiety and depression is higher than 3 in 4.
The people suffering from cognitive dissonance – which is one of the causes/symptoms of anxiety and depression are fairly well identified.
Pretty much NOT Trump supporters.
Are those on the right “uncomfortable” right now ? Absolutely – this nonsense is DANGEROUS.
it is interesting that something else happened today – the last of hundreds of pro democracy protestors in Hong Kong was convicted.
Pretty sure they too have fair and valid trials.
Are those on the right “uncomfortable” – Absolutely – because those of you on the left are going to keep this dangerous nonsense u until there are fairly draconian consequences.
I do not know what will happen with the Polls -= but I hope that the NPR poll proves correct.
Your lawlessness will not end until there are consequences.
Pressure of thought and pressure of speech.
Unable to control the urge to give voice to every bizarre disconnected thought that pops into head.
“So what. Trump is guilty.”… Blah, blah, blah…, says one of our most prolific and ignorant posters.
But then we have to ask what he is guilty of. Does any leftist know? No. There is a lot of copy-and-paste material, along with many untruths, but nothing that puts a solid light on the crime.
What happened isn’t new. It’s a Stalin game. If you have a problem with a person, create a crime, convict him, and then send him to Siberia or kill him. Democrats are proud of this adoption of Stalin’s techniques, along with a bit of Nazism calling for the death of Jews.
Trump’s crime is that he is a threat to Progressive rule. That’s it. Trump’s notations in his computerized check-book register are standard for many. The accountants handle them, and the IRS reviews them if they are suspicious. NDAs are legal.
Allan Dershowitz, a Biden supporter, at least until Biden became a Nazi, has his answers as to what happened. He titled it before the judgement: ” Judge essentially instructs the jury to convict Trump: will they listen?”
In Dershowitz video
https://jonathanturley.org/2024/05/30/a-manhattan-canned-hunt-the-trump-jury-is-out-but-is-the-case-in-the-bag/comment-page-5/#comments
he says the jury has to convict to protect their selves from the abuses of the left. Dershowitz knows. His entire lifestyle was turned upside down after defending Trump only on constitutional issues. At the same time, he said in public and private, he supported Biden because Biden was the leader of the party he had supported his entire life. Dershowitz tells of what happened to his life for defending Trump while voting for Biden. The jury had no choice, and he said almost certainly Trump will be convicted.
He was convicted but we still don’t know why and that is one of the reasons the case will eventually be appealed and thrown out. Does this have any effect on people whose lives are on the level of an Amoeba? No. They move and reproduce but there is no functioning brain permitting them to think.
S. Meyer: how many times does it have to be explained to you that Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to cover up a tryst with a porn actress ? The reason for covering it up was to benefit his campaign after his reputation took a hit over the Access Hollywood tape. The payment was misrepresented as attorney fees and had to be doubled— I.e. “grossed up “ so Cohen could be made whole after paying state, federal and local taxes. And Cohen did pay taxes on the “grossed up “ amount even though it was reimbursement for the payoff and not for attorney work.
Gigi. none of that is a crime.
This will be overturned, People like you are too stupid to understand that Trump has the means to defend himself. You will be jailed and never see the light day. This government will crush you, on their whim. Even when it happens to you, you are too stupid to connect the dots.
I know the claim, Gigi, but tell me how his method was a falsification. Unfortunately, the judge prevented the expert on the subject from testifying to straighten out your misunderstanding of accounting and accounting record books. A lot of people use similar accounting methods. I know I did and do, but fortunately, none of my businesses are in NY, or I would have to worry. I have a home in Manhattan, and this nonsense and the crime and costs make me think it might be time to sell. My former partners are also out of the state, and I predict many more will follow. That means tax revenue falls, and the middle class suffers.
Let me tell you how I see it. Trump wrote a check to Cohen to cover Cohen’s fees and costs. It was entered into the books, but the costs weren’t broken down. The accountant handles the rest of the paperwork and taxes. The IRS now has a record that Cohen received a sum of money. It is up to him to declare his expenses, including the NDA. Daniels gets the money and declares the income on her IRS forms. These records allow the business to function and the IRS to know where the money goes and tax it appropriately. I don’t see anything wrong, so tell me, what is supposed to be done?
Non-disclosure agreements are as legal as everyday items like toothpaste. Just like toothpaste doesn’t require a special column, is there a problem if NDAs aren’t specifically mentioned?
The issue is not accounting practices— it’s deliberate falsification of business records to hide misconduct in order to influence an election. It’s not that complicated, and expert opinion about accounting practices would not be relevant. The state proved its case, mostly by Trump insiders and his own business records.
Gigi, If you know it is not accounting practices, then you know the details. Write those details down in black and white if you wish to be at a different level than New George. So far, you haven’t done so, and you have limited yourself to repetition. Tell us how the records actively hid misconduct. We are all waiting to hear.
“his own business records.”
This may seem repetitive, but define those business records step-by-step. Tell us how Trump’s business records proved anything other than that he paid Cohen a fee and costs. That is a usual practice. Since the NDA is legal, nothing was hidden, not even the toothpaste Cohen billed Trump for.
I’m horrified! That’s like tearing 34 tags off of 34 mattresses.
More like tearing 34 tags off of one mattress.
Gigi, proud Soviet Democrat police state fascist is just as orgasmic (and untruthful) as The Gigi Thing was back in 2012, when Jack Smith in his initial police state fascist appearance took out the Republican most likely to beat Bolshevik Barack in that election.
Did Gigi have anything to say when SCOTUS shortly after the election threw the conviction out? Was The Gigi Thing embarrassed to hear the UNANIMOUS ruling from SCOTUS that said Jack Smith pretty much made up the law and represented other parts of the law to get that conviction? Embarrassed to hear the SCOTUS decision call Jack Smith out by name and call him a “threat to the separation of powers”?
Nah… The Gigi Thing didn’t care: the important thing is that conviction left Obama to run against the feeble Mitt Romney instead and he was re-elected.
The Gigi Thing didn’t have any shame back then when Jack Smith was called a police state fascist by SCOTUS. Will the Gigi Thing have any shame this time, when the police state fascist prosecutor and his co-conspirator police state fascist judge are also reversed by SCOTUS?
Or will The Gigi Thing come up with more lies?
“how many times does it have to be explained to you that Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money paid to cover up a tryst with a porn actress ? ”
Except that is litterallly NOT what happened – because that is NOT illegal.
Read Merchan’s jury instructions – there is virtually NOTHING about the alleged Tryst with the porn star.
Again READ THE JURY INSTRUCTIONS.
To convict Trump the Jury was told that:
1). They had to find that the business records were fraudulent and that Trump was responsible for that. Aside from the fact that they were not fraudulent, and that the Judge unconstitutionally defined Fraud, and the Fact that there was NO EVIDENCE presented that Trump directed the creation of the records or anything but the payment of Cohen
2). Next they had to find that the purpose of falsifying the business records was to unlawfully influence the the 2016 election. They had to find Trump guilty of violating NY 17-152.
3). To be clear – trying to influence the election is NOT sufficient – trying to sway voters is perfectly legal – it had to be done unlawfully.
Merchan gave Jurors 3 choises as to how that was done unlawfully
a). By violating Campaign finance laws.
b). By violating IRS tax laws
c). by violating NY State tax laws.
So FIRST when have an unconstitutional definition of fraud.
Then we have A required jury finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on a crime that Trump was not indicted for, charged with, or that actual evidence was presented.
Then we have that crime requiring proof beyond a reasonable doubt of anyone of 3 other uncharged crimes – two of which are not even in the jurisdiction of this court.
And worse we have an unconstitutional claim that the jury need not agree on which uncharged crime was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
And just to ice this all – we have the Time warp problem of all of the allegedly criminal conduct occured AFTER the election.
17-152 – which is the crime that Bragg is using to bump the records nonsense to a felony requires UNLAWFUL election inteference – ignoring the fact that “unlawful” is unconstitutionally vague – would illegal parking to win an election violate 17-152,
there is still the major problem that the “unlawlful” act must have occurred BEFORE the election – and Judge MErchan did not even give the jury ANY unlawful act to consider that occurred BEFORE the election.
An dyou wonder why people are not convinced by this flaming pile of Dog poop ?
“hush money paid to cover up a tryst with a porn actress”
Perfectly legal.
“The reason for covering it up was to benefit his campaign after his reputation took a hit over the Access Hollywood tape.”
NDA’s are legal.
All the rest of the allegations took place AFTER the election – therefor they can not be a coverup to win the electiont hat was already over.
“The payment was misrepresented as attorney fees”
The were called a retainer, reimbersement and legal expenses – all of which is correct.
There is no accounting catagory for “hush money” – legally – as several attorney’s correctly testified to – payment for an NDA is a payment as part of a legal settlement – Daniels contracted not to repeat her allegation in return for a setlement payment.
Settlement payment are legal expenses.
“had to be doubled— I.e. “grossed up “ so Cohen could be made whole after paying state, federal and local taxes.”
So ? that is completely meaningless .
“And Cohen did pay taxes on the “grossed up “ amount even though it was reimbursement for the payoff and not for attorney work.”
Did Cohen get the NDA ? He testified that he did. Did he get it with his own money ? He testified that he did. Was the NDA between him and Daniels ? The NDA was entered into evidence and Trump was not a party to the NDA.
qed
the NDA was the PROPERTY of Micheal Cohen – I would note that was also addressed as a matter of law in prior cases.
Trump agreed not to go after Daniels for speaking about the alleged tryst before Cohen did. But Trump had no ability to legally release Daniels from the NDA – part of the many reasons Daniels lost her lawsuit against Trump and owes him 600K in legal fees.
The NDA was OWNED by Cohen – I know this is difficult for you but Contracts are PROPERTY. Cohen owned the NDA – not Trump.
If Daniels breached Daniels owed Cohen 1.6M/breach – not Trump.
Did Cohen want back the money he laid out to get the NDA ? Sure. Did Trump agree to pay Cohen that money ? Seems that way.
But there was no Transfer of the NDA to Trump. So Trump did not BUY the NDA. He bought the work and cost that Coehn put in to get it.
qed Reimbursement for LEGAL fees.
The “grossing up” is not only irrelevant – by HARMFUL to the prosecution case.
If Cohen SOLD the NDA to Trump – securing the NDA would be an EXPENSE for Cohen and getting Reimbursed would matching revenue.
There would be no tax liability for Cohen – he paid 130K for something, sold it to Trump for 130K and owed no taxes.
The only way that Cohen can owe Taxes on the 130K he paid for the NDA is if Trump did NOT buy it from him.
In otherwords if he was being paid for a legal SERVICE not for an ASSET.
Legal services are taxable. The purchase and transfer of assets to another person is NOT taxable to you.
The “Grossing up” notation you fixate on proved the OPPOSITE of what you think it does.
There is very little doubt that Trump ultimately paid for the NDA, But what he paid for was the TAXABLE SERVICE of assuring Daniels silence.
Not the actual Asset of the NDA.
To be clear – there is no actual crime either way. The only difference is Who may or may not owe taxes.
The reason for “Grossing up” was that Trump did not buy the asset – he bought legal services. Cohen owes taxes on legal services.
Arguably no one owes taxes on the purchase of an asset – maybe daniels – since the asset is her silence and that is taxable income.
All the “grossing it up” means is that Cohen did not intend to give up ownership of the NDA and therefore he was not being paid to buy the NDA but for the legal service of securing it.
Lets try an analogy.
There is a very valuable horse. I do not own it. I do not care if I own it. But I want to make absolutely certain that a competitor does NOT own it. I hire Micheal cohen to buy the horse. Cohen keeps the horse and I pay him for buying the horse and making sure that the people I do not want to have the horse do not get the horse. What I am paying Cohen for is NOT THE HORSE, it is assuring the horse does not fall into the hands of my competitor. This is all legal. Cohen Buys the horse – he owns the horse. If I agree to pay Cohen what he had to pay to buy the horse – because Cohen ownes the horse nd did not sel the horse to may – Cohen provided a SERVICE, that services is TAXABLE, and COHEN owes the Taxes on the sevice – hence the “grossing up”.
Conversely if Cohen sells me the horse – he can sell it to me for eactly what he paid for it and owe no taxes. So no need to “gross it up”
More simply – if the payment to Cohen was a reimbursement for the NDA – the payment is not taxable. No need to gross it up.
The only reason to “gross it up” is if the payment is for a SERVICE – attorney work.
If you pay an attorney (or anyone else) to buy something that THEY KEEP, you bought a taxable SERVICE and if you do not “gross it up” they will lose money on taxes.
If you pay an attorney to buy an asset that YOU OWN, there are no taxes involved.
I presume that you have bought a car at sometime in your life.
Did you pay income taxes on the price of the car ?
I doubt you would know this but neither did the car dealer.
There might have been sales taxes or transfer taxes, there would have been NO federal taxes.
The car dealership MIGHT owe income taxes on ALL payments for cars collected – less all expenses in selling those case – the cost to purchase them, the cost of the mortgage and operating expenses for the car dealership.
A payment to another person is only 100% taxable if it is a SERVICE.
I have little interest in 2nd guessing the rationale behind the Jury decision.
Are they afraid of the judgement of their neighbors ? Could be left wing nuts are terrified of getting cancelled.
Were they guided down the yellow brick road to conviction by a corrupt judge – possibly.
What is certain is that the last faint hope of even a hint of integrity and NYC died today.
What is also highly likely is that this will not be the end of this. Nothing is stopping Republican DA’s across the country from pulling this same nonsense.
Either the higher courts fix this weaponized political BS quickly or this gets out of hand and likely fast.
We have seen democrats break norms all over the place over the past decade, in nearly all instances though the moved first – Republicans were ultimately the beneficiaries of the termination of norms. Why should this be any different ?
“I have little interest in 2nd guessing the rationale behind the Jury decision.”
And then you proceed to second guess the rationale. SMH.
John, if you have an interest in the result of the trial, then you should have some interest in how intimidation and pear influence affects the jurors. Listen to Dershowitz (link above).
Time for all to suck it in and vote Trump. Waiting for tomorrow might mean waiting for a bus trip to Siberia.
@S. Meyer,
“But then we have to ask what he is guilty of. Does any leftist know?”
Everybody knows by now what he’s guilty of. He’s guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree. A felony.
Trumps crime is he broke NY state law.
George, just a simple question. Why didn’t they just charge the NY election law crime? Maybe because in a real trial with a real crime would never survive a defense that had a charge to defend against. Or maybe it is not really a crime and the Grand Jury would refuse to deliver a true bill on that ham sandwich.
So exactly why weren’t these things you insist ARE crimes, were not prosecuted?
@iowan2,
“Why didn’t they just charge the NY election law crime? ”
Perhaps because it would only have gotten them a misdemeanor. The falsification of business records was the easier crime to charge. Bragg then got creative and successfully upped the misdemeanor into a felony by using a novel approach. It worked.
That crime was prosecuted. That’s why he’s now a felon.
“That’s why he’s now a felon.”
And soon to be President again. And the head of the executive branch, which includes the FBI and the DOJ
If you think dems were afraid before…
New George, you still don’t know what happened or understand regular business practices. You say, “guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree.” He was found guilty of that, but why should the proper entry into business records for the business and the IRS be a crime? That makes all business affairs a crime if someone wants to go after you. All businesses falsify their records according to your standards. Would that have to be listed separately if Cohen were paid for toothpaste? NDAs are legal and acceptable, just like toothpaste, so why must an NDA be treated differently?
@S. Meyer,
“He was found guilty of that, but why should the proper entry into business records for the business and the IRS be a crime? ”
Because they were IMPROPER ENTRIES. False entries.
“That makes all business affairs a crime if someone wants to go after you.”
S. Meyer you really need to read what you write before you post. You’re not making any sense at all. None. You’re literally babbling nonsense.
“Because they were IMPROPER ENTRIES. False entries.”
What makes the entries false? Tell us the process.
You say I am not making any sense when I am. Tell me what is wrong with paying Michael Cohen his fee and expenses. What makes the NDA different from other expenses Cohen might be reimbursed for? The NDA is legal as are other expenditures. Give us the exact details of how the transaction took place. Previously you blamed the check. Have you finally figured out you were wrong?
Based on a lack of response to the rebuttals, one must believe that, once again, New George doesn’t understand the discussion and is purposely stating mistruths. Repeating such things makes him the Speech Moron.
Lee Zeldin now on Fox begging people to donate their hard earned money to a wealthy multi-billionaire felon.
@Anon
And there it is! As expected, this scripted ‘trial’ comes with a talking point. Expect to be flooded with it soon.
PS – in particular, note the ‘billionaire’ part. The dems are going to pretend they are not the wealthy aristocracy and are just protecting everyone. 🙄🙄🙄 Totally, utterly transparent. 😝😝
Todd Blanche lost a winnable case with a disastrous defense strategy.
The fact that he’s on Fox News tonight defending that strategy after a complete defeat suggests that it was Trump’s strategy, not his.
The jury was out for barely a day. This was not winnable. That has nothing to do with the case. A corrupt prosecutor, corrupt judge, and a manhattan Jury were not going to follow the law or the evidence – if they had – they case would never have been indicted much less gone to trial.
There is zero chance this is not overturned. Why ? Because if this was actually a crime – every democrat politician and most republicans in the country would be in jail.
BTW to say this is a defeat is to pretend that it was winnable. Read Turely above ? Bragg has gone outside the law at every possible chance.,
Merchan has not merely let him – but in myriads of instances LEAD him.
Absolutely some people hoped against Hope there was atleast one rational juror on this jury that understood how damaging this case is to the rule of law, but nearly everyone has understood that was highly unlikely from the start.
We have seen thousands of bogus convictions in DC. The only reason we do not have a different version of this in Atlanta is because Fannie Willis got caught being more of a criminal than those she accused. Bragg atleast kept his hands out of the cookie jar.
Regardless it will take time to see what the actual impact on the country and on the elections is.
That is far more up in the air. Most people have not followed this – or any of the other cases.
At the same time most people polled have not found them to be of any substance before.
My personal guess is that Trump rose in the polls slightly during this case.
Though there may be short term noise, that the impact of the case is already present in the polls – that after the noise little will change.
It is possible this will hurt Trump in the polls – that is what Democrats are betting desparately on.
It is also possible it will help Trump.
It is likely that people will vote against Trump because of this.
It is also likely people will vote for Trump because of this.
Regardless, just as the effort to get congress to delay certification on J6 was a hail mary on Trump’s part – this is a hail mary on the part of Democrats.
Now we get to see if it actually works.
This is the sentiment of a lot of folks right now:
“I’m voting for Trump.
I don’t even like him.
I’m just tired of the left. Tired of DEI & gun laws & tax hikes & climate nonsense & billions to foreigners.
I’m not voting for the man. I’m voting for the pissed off bull-in-a-china-shop who wants to burn DC to the ground.”
John Say,
Of course, the ol’ they are just corrupt argument when everything else didn’t pan as expected. Blaming the jury, the judge, the D.A. all because they DID follow the law.
Your reliance on a contorted view of the law and an unhealthy animosity towards anything Democrat severely impairs your judgement.
Merchant gave very explicit instructions and went out of his way to distinguish the definitions of legal phrases according to NY law, not federal law, but NY law which is what Trump is being charged with. Conservative commentators and legal analysts made the mistake of focusing so much on the narrowest definitions using federal laws to ‘prove’ the charges against Trump were wrong. State laws are different for a reason. Each state has different definitions of what constitutes “intent to defraud”, falsification of documents, even intent or motive. The Supreme Court made this point way back in 2020. States fill the gap that the federal statues do not address.
Your objection to this case is purely an ideological one, not a legal one. Trump was tried under NY law. The prosecution successfully proved to a jury that Trump committed a crime. That’s how it works. They followed all the rules and processes that ensured Trump got a fair trial. What went wrong was Trump’s poor defense. His lawyers clearly made several errors and blunders that many attribute to Trump’s insistence. Trump NEVER listens to his lawyers advice. Cohen testified to that and the evidence is a trail of jailed, sanctioned, and disbarred lawyers that made the mistake of having Trump as a client.
This will certainly hurt Trump in the polls. Polls have shown that if Trump is convicted many independents will not vote for Trump as a felon. With a think margin of error this is not good for Trump.
This trial showed that the law does apply to people like Trump. It showed that he’s not special or exempt from accountability. Today reality slapped Trump and his supporters across the face and they cannot accept the fact that it can indeed occur.
Trump has to tread carefully now that he is a convicted criminal and a felon. He can make things much worse if he doesn’t manage his tendency to shoot his mouth off and lash out. This will affect the other cases because he will be treated as a criminal. The presumption of innocence is much harder to maintain after a conviction for felony crimes. The reality is Trump is a criminal in the eyes of the law anywhere in the country.
This outcome was not Blanche’s fault—more of Trump projecting. The evidence was there and there wasn’t much Blanche could do with it. His only error was to listen to his client who demanded that he viciously attack Daniels and Cohen as liars. But their testimony was backed up by Trump insiders and documents. The jury believed Cohen and Daniels. Trump could have tried to refute their testimony by testifying but he’s a pathological liar so he couldn’t take the stand.
Greetings MAGA losers and suckers,
Are you beginning to notice that none of your predictions ever come true ???
This blog is full of long-winded nonsensical diatribes about how Trump will never be convicted.
Now that your predictions for this case have failed miserably, I suspect we will move on to the next phase with long-winded explanations of how this case will inevitably be overturned on appeal.
Now let’s consider what will happen at the appeals level. The absolute best outcome for Trump’s appeal will to have the Appeals Court vacate the conviction. That does not mean Trump is declared not guilty. Appeals courts cannot decide guilt or innocence. They can vacate a conviction, but all that means is that it is as if this trial never happened. Bragg can then bring the case again. There is no double jeopardy, the original trial is simply nullified.
That means we get to do this all over again.
Oh, happy days !!!!!!!
ATS – if you do not wish to be constantly called stupid – quit telling the rest of us what we have said and thought – when what we have Actually said is readily available on the record.
Many of us have discussed the myriads of flaws in this case – and a large amount of that criticism has been directed at the corrupt way in which the prosecutor and the judge have violated “the rule of law”.
A TINY portion of people have hoped against hope that there were one or two rational people who saw through this mess on the jury.
But nearly everyone who has criticized this get exactly what they expected and predicted today.
So who is it that is wrong ?
What predictions – most of us here have predicted conviction – no one has ever been under the illusion that Bragg, or Merchan were running a fair trail ? Read Turley’s post above – does that sound like some kind of MAGA prediction of a Trump acquittal ?
As to your legal analysis – Apeals courts do not vacate convictions – they void the entire trial, and depending on the grounds, they do so with prejudice. Which means the Trial was so badly conducted that the defendant can not be retried.
There is about zero chance this is not overturned.
There is near zero chance that occurs before the election.
There is zero chance this will ever be retried – this case should be a massiive embarrassment to those of you on the left.
The entire thing is just Election Fraud.
Trump is ahead in the popular vote so the fraud that won 2020 for you would not work in 2024
So you have engaged in a new form of election fraud.
Regardless look back on the history of violations of societal norms. Those on the left have universally done so first.
But those on the right have near universally benefited more than those on the left.
What will happen as a result of this ? Trump will be further tied in legal knows and handicapped in campaigning for the remainder of the election.
Will it have any long term negative effect on the election – we will see. I doubt it, but I could be wrong. But everything Democrats have done so far that was supposed to defeat Trump has backfired – why should this be different ?
With respect to appeals – there are all kinds of possibilities.
By including FECA and IRS tax allegations into the jury instructions – Merchan has opened the door to a direct appeal to the federal courts.
There is a very small possibility that a federal court can quickly throw this out because NYC courts do not have any jurisdiction over federal crimes. There are many meany other reasons that SCOTUS or the federal courts will eventually toss this if the NY state courts do not grasp how damaging it has been to them first – but it is highly unlikely that Trump will get a reversal before the election .
In the long history of the common law as we now practice it,
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushel%27s_Case
from ca. 1670 stand out as a precedent for the independence of the petite jury.
Those who dislike the outcome of the Trump trial ought to wait for the appeal to the New York Court of Appeals anf the result thereof.
Out trial by jury is too precious a liberty to slam because of the Trump trial in New York. Would you rather we return to trial by combat?
DBB – absolutely the independence of the petite jury is of critical importance.
And if we had that in Manhattan and DC and GA we would all be fine.
No we need not wait for the appellate courts to speak.
We actually have a very unusual case here – ordinary people – who heard the legal experts and arguments outside of court have heard MORE of the actual law, than the jury.
Ordinary people understand that fraud has to actually harm someone.
Ordinary people understand that you can not be convicted using allegations of crimes you are not charged with.
Ordinary people have and will judge Bragg, Merchan, this jury and the NY court system – including the appellate courts.
And a very large number will judge them very badly.
And we are perfectly free to do so.
The petite jury is supposed to be independent – but it is also supposed to be provided the ACTUAL law by the Judge.
Not force fed legal nonsense.
Juries in Russia and Bannana republics have as much independence as they do in Manhattan.
Many many many people have called this a kangaroo court from the start.
All that has happened is that 12 Jurors have proved it.
Since the sentencing is scheduled for July 11. Trump will have to be careful about how he behaves and what he says. He’s going to meet with a probation officer. And that person will recommend what kind of sentence the judge should impose.
Trump is a convicted felon. His usual Truth social rants and vague insinuating threats will be a problem down the road.
As a convicted felon his rights are slightly more limited and anything he does from now on could affect his appeal, his sentence, and his ability to retaliate.
Knowing how Trump behaves it’s likely he will become more unhinged and crazy.
His supporters are bound to get violent and despondent. The jurors will certainly be smart to remain anonymous for a long time.
George – you do realize that all you are doing is FURTHER demonstrating that this is all just left wing election fraud.
You say Trump is a “convicted felon” – which is EXACTLY what everyone has said this has been about fromt he start.
Leftists trying to place a derogatory LABEL on political opponents – your betting this will work better than NAZI, or Racist, or homophobe or …
Yet, the majority of voters know that neither they nor Trump are “deplorables”, Nazi’s, Homophobes, Racists, ….
Why do you think this “label” will work any better.
Ordinary people KNOW what a racist is, what a nazi is, what a convicted felon is.
It is NOT someone who a bunch of left wing nuts decided to label.
We fully expect from now through the election, that you will repeat “convicted Felon” 10,000 times a day.
But all it does is prove how much of an idiot you are.
Thanks George: Trump has been found civilly liable for sexual assault, for falsifying loan applications and financial statements, and now guilty of 34 felonies. What does it take for his fans to figure out what a terrible person he is and how morally unfit he is to be the leader of the free world? Add to that the lousy job he did pretending to be President and the insurrection, the disastrous mess he left for Biden to fix and the terrible job he did with COVID. Then there’s the abortion ban he wants, more tax breaks for the wealthy, the concentration camps for migrants, the vengeance he wants, cutting Social Security and Medicare, and abolishing the Department of Education. Why would anyone vote for him?
Absolutely – we fully expect Merchan and the NY Parole idiots to engage in even more election interferance.
Absolutely Trump is going to have to be unbeleivably careful to avoid getting sent directly to jail.
Maybe that will happen. maybe it will not.
But do you really think that is going to help you win the election ?
This was always a dangerous hail mary by the left.
It is possible that it will even work – though not in the long run.
More than a decade ago democrat political strategists told democrats they would rule for ever – “demographics is destiny”
But a strange thing happened on the way to the party – major democratic groups – minorities, working class, all started moving away from democrats.
As of today Trump is ahead int eh popular vote by 7M votes.
If this election fraud strategy works – maybe this will end up being a close election.
What about the next one, and the next one ?
One of the massive problems with this strategy is while Trump is personally a bit unique and possibly a better political mind that even Bill Clinton or he would not still be in this election, Trump is only partly winning because he is Trump.
The big issue is that Democrats are losing.
While by super majorities voters side with republicans on nearly all top issues.
It is NOT about republicans – Republicans are their own worst enemies – they have always been bad at messaging.
The really big deal is that the left has failed.
Trump won the GOP nomination in 2016 – but ANY other Republican would have beaten Hillary in 2016.
Trump vanquished chanllengers in 2024 – But right now ANY republican would beat Biden.
This case does not change that. It is highly unlikely that Republicans will abandoned Trump.
But lets say they did – lets say that Republican switched to Halley, or Viveck or anyone else right now.
Do you honestly think they would not win ?
Nor ultimately is this about Joe Biden. While he is a poor candidate – there is no other Democrat that could have beaten Trump is 2020.
Nor is there one Now.
There has been lots of muttering by democrats about Replacing Biden as the Democrats candidate.
But there is no other democrat.
Nor is this about personalities. Trump is an oversized personality. I know this is hard for you left wing nuts to grasp – but he is also charasmatic.
But the fundimental problem that democrats have had after Obama and even worse with Biden is that they have FAILED.
I do not want the GOP to revert back to Neo-cons – but any generic neo-con would beat most any democrat.
I remains to be seen whether this form of election Fraud will work even ONCE.
Do you actually think it will work again ?
You are also clueless. Republicans though nailing Clinton for Perjury would tank him. How well did that work ?
But this is worse.
Every time you say “convicted Felon” – lots of people will be going
“sex with a porn star vs. selling out the country taking millions from the chinese and Russians”
Regardless, you have cast your dice, you have made your bet.
You have tried to “shoot the moon”.
Now we get to see how it actually works.
Just incase you were clueless – YOUR OWN COMMENTS make it clear – this is about the election for you. Nothing else.
Now we get to see if the rest of the country thinks “this is just about the election”
George – as a matter of FACT his right to free speech RETURNS.
There are no witnesses to interfere with. Trump is free to rant to his hearts content.
Though I do expect more unconstitutional gag orders.
How well did those work for you before ?
Separately, your own argument is STUPID.
What is your goal to convict an actual criminal of a crime ? If that is the case you failed.
Or as you are openly admitting – to handcuff Trump to shut him up so that you can win the election ?
YTou do not see4m to understand that every Time Trump gets in front of a crowd and says “I am being unconstitutionally gagged, I can not talk about that” What he is saying is far more damaging than if you left him speak.
THANK YOU again and again, Professor Turley for your series of razor sharp analyses re: this banana republic witch hunt ‘trial,’ – this analysis simply Brilliant, like the one before, and the one before that, etc., etc. You inspire me, a long-time ‘Classic Liberal’ who has now been pushed in recent years, to embrace a new order conservative position to ask – also again and again – can THIS so
visibly crooked set-up of a ‘trial’ at the hands of a corrupt political opposition really be happening to/ in OUR US JUSTICE SYSTEM ??? .. We saw to-day that these thugs just wouldn’t give up… like a continuation of the J6 Cmte kangaroo court inquisition… so pathetic.. so disgusting… like they have nothing better to do than excel at corruption….. God Help US.. and May God protect you and your Res Ipsa Voice.
You red-state governors need to wake up. The Left is far more dangerous and deceitful than you guys have been willing to admit, even to yourselves. We are marching into a world where Bolsheviks can drag people off to D.C. and NYC and destroy their lives, businesses, reputations, you name it.
Milley and Podesta have a plan for you. You better have a plan for them.
The symbol of the GOP isn’t the elephant, it’s the ostrich.
They rigged the judge, they rigged the jury, they rigged the verdict, but they’d never rig an election??
Don’t be idiots.
Exactly right. Time for the Bill Barrs of the world to wake up. The “Hail, Fellow, well met!” days are over. Same for Professor Turley. All the collegial deference he gives to the Democrats needs to end. Democrats are bad, evil people now. And throwing a Kangaroo Court Party for Trump is really not the worst of it. These scum will even castrate young boys and cut the breasts off young girls to appease the Party. Sick.
Now it is officially America that is on trial. If people still keep on voting for Democrats, then they can not pretend that they do not know any better. Sadly, I think too many people will keep on voting for them. I mean, if sexually mutilating kids isn’t enough to send them scurrying for the door out of the party, then this will probably not either. With this lack of good people, maybe God will turn NYC into a ruin, like with Sodom and Gonorrhoea.
This was a B.S. trial and it will be successfully appealed. In the meantime, if Biden were smart, he would (tomorrow) issue a pardon for the former President (and his political opponent). Saturday he would issue a limited pardon to Hunter. It would be a win-win for him and this nation. We cannot afford to be this divided…or is this the point?
In a few months time, we will move on and the skyrocketing cost of living will take hold and this will be in the past and the crushing reality of making a living will be the issue (for those that work).
Too bad Hillary already used up the bleach bit and hammers.
This is a shameful and hateful misuse of our legal system and a scar on this country. Our enemies are laughing at us and the country is further divided. What a surreal and bizarre world we live in ;post COVID).
Biden can’t issue a pardon, because its a state based charge.
Hochul can issue a pardon.
Former President Donald Trump’s legal team made a critical error in their attempt to defend against the criminal hush payment case in Manhattan, former Trump lawyer Tim Parlatore explained.
This case, strikes me from the beginning, as an incredibly defensible case that was not well-defended,” said Parlatore.
The big problem, he continued, is that “the amount of time that the defense spent talking about Karen McDougal and ‘catch and kill,’ and all of these other things that had nothing to do with the actual charge of the falsified business records. And I think that they really fell into the trap of fighting all these things they didn’t need to, where it’s easier to just kinda concede all that stuff and focus in on this right here.”
Basically Trump’s incompetent lawyers followed his orders by denying that he had sex with Daniels, and attacking the credibility of Karen McDougal, and trying to use Costello to attack Cohen. None of that was necessary, and was in fact detrimental. However, Trump obviously insisted that his lawyers should take this approach.
Cohen himself once said that Trump does not hire lawyers for their advice. He is never interested in legal advice. Trump hires lawyers for the sole purpose of doing what he wants to get done. He tells them what he wants done, and if they tell him it is not a good idea, or not legal, he fires them. That is probably why he fired Parletore.
Cohen would know this. This is exactly why Trump hired him in the first place. Cohen’s job was always to be a fixer, never to give legal advice.
Exactly. Trump plays a big role in what his lawyers do. That’s why so many end up sanctioned, disbarred, or jailed.
No. They end up being sancitoned disbarred or jailed because they acted against the Democrats. Note that Sidney Powell’s disbarment has just been overturned, for example.
You are dead wrong, George.. Alan Dershowitz has explained many times why Trump’s lawyers, and many lawyers who would love to be Trump’s lawyers, end up having to step away… this mostly revolves around the 65 Project.. Why not do the research first before you put your foot in your mouth.
Dershowitz? The man can barely put together a cogent analysis.
Trumps lawyers have either ended up in jail, disbarred, sanctioned, and left penniless by Trump.
This is why Trump can’t get really good lawyers to represent him.
Yeah, Anonymous, Trump’s the legal genius who knows more than lawyers. But jurors just don’t realize how smart Trump is.
Turley Featured In Post Coverage
Arriving at the courthouse the next morning, Trump offered some more legal analysis, as usual citing his devoted courtier Jonathan Turley. “If any three-legged stool is missing, and any leg is missing, the stool absolutely collapses,” Trump said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/05/30/early-trump-verdict-campaign-impact-lost-focus/
……………………………………..
QUESTION: Does Professor Turley want to be known as Trump’s “devoted courtier”?
This tag could, perhaps, become baggage over time. One is reminded of that old saying, ‘Be careful of what you ask for, because you just might get it”.
Turley is like the Chicago boy who wants to be noticed by the local mafia capo. Turley ‘is’, in fact a Chicago native and ethnic Sicilian. But once you’re on the capo’s radar, there’s no turning back.
From this point onward, Turley might be known as that law professor who wanted desperately to be noticed by Trump. And sure enough, Trump took to parroting Turley’s talking points. Too bad the jury wasn’t sequestered in Turley’s blog!
@Anonymous
Truly, you are a twisted and sad excuse for a human being.
I came to a similar conclusion, turkey wants to be trumps next AG, but Trump will never again hold office.
Concern troll is concerned. More legal scholars should be concerned about the integrity of the legal system. Turley and Dershowitz are in agreement. Do you really think you can level those same allegations against Dershowitz without being laughed out of the room ?
RIP United States of America, 1776-1924
😞
*2024
Always level headed, fiercely anti-Trump, the WSJ Editorial Page editors published this evening a piece that resonates with many Americans right now.
From a medical perspective, the majority of Americans have suffered from so many medical and mental pathologies due to national unrest, that this DNC power grab Manhattan circus will wreak yet more dysfunction on everyone. No one is immune. The Democrats have wreaked havoc on all of us
A Guilty Verdict for Trump and Its Consequences for the Country: District Attorney Alvin Bragg inaugurates a new and destabilizing era of American politics.
Twelve New York jurors have found Donald Trump guilty of falsifying business records, a total of 34 felony counts, in history’s first criminal conviction of a former President. What a volatile moment for the country. Will the judge jail Mr. Trump? Will voters re-elect him in November anyway, in disgust of this concocted case? What if it’s thrown out on appeal? Will Republicans retaliate? The nation might soon regret this rough turn.
Thursday’s guilty verdict wasn’t entirely surprising, given the jury pool in Manhattan. If Mr. Trump had lucked out, he might have drawn one or two stubborn skeptics, like the Henry Fonda character in “12 Angry Men,” resulting in at least a hung jury. Instead the fortunate one was Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who filed the weakest of the four indictments of Mr. Trump, but who managed to drag his case first over the finish line.
Normally a felony conviction would be politically fatal for a candidate appearing on the ballot in five months. But normally a prosecutor wouldn’t have brought this case. Mr. Bragg, an elected Democrat, ran for office as the man ready to take on Mr. Trump. When the new DA didn’t indict shortly after winning office, his top Trump prosecutors loudly quit, increasing the pressure on Mr. Bragg to do, well, something. Even after a guilty verdict, the case he ended up filing looks like a legal stretch.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-guilty-verdict-manhattan-trial-alvin-bragg-juan-merchan-stormy-daniels-b982d7d1
Arm up.,… the day is coming. ” When in the course of human events……. “
In a society of laws, laws must be strictly adhered to.
George really. Given the state of New York, the revolving door for criminals, not even prosecuting them, and letting them out to repeat a friend again and again and again, you have the audacity to say the rule of law must be here too. Lmaorotf. Really?
“No one is above the law”.
Said Castro, Robespierre, Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao and Hitler, as they were preparing their “trials”.