Below is my column in the Hill on the most compelling grounds for an appeal in the Trump case after his conviction on 34 counts in Manhattan. There has been considerable criticism of the defense team and its strategy in the case, including some moves that may undermine appellate issues. However, after the instructions became public, I wrote a column that I thought the case was nearly un-winnable, even for those of us who previously saw a chance for a hung jury. Clarence Darrow would likely have lost with those instructions after the errors in the case by Judge Juan Merchan. At that point, it became a legal canned hunt. So the attention will now shift to the appellate courts. While it may be tough going initially in the New York court system for the former president, this case could well end up in the federal system and the United States Supreme Court. The thrill kill environment of last week may then dissipate as these glaring errors are presented in higher courts.
Here is the column:
The conviction of former President Donald Trump in Manhattan of 34 felonies produced citywide celebrations. This thrill-kill environment extended to the media, where former U.S. Attorney Harry Litman told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace that it was “majestic day” and “a day to celebrate.” When I left the courthouse after watching the verdict come in, I was floored by the celebrations outside by both the public and some of the media.
The celebrants would be wise to think twice before mounting this trophy kill on the political wall. The Trump trial is a target-rich environment for an appeal, with multiple layers of reversible error, in my view.
I am less convinced by suggestions that the case could be challenged on the inability of Trump receiving a fair trial in a district that voted roughly 90 percent against him. The problem was not the jury, but the prosecutors and the judge.
Some of the most compelling problems can be divided into four groups.
The Judge
Acting Supreme Court justice Juan Merchan was handpicked for this case rather than randomly selected. This is only the latest in a litany of Trump cases where Merchan has meted out tough rulings against Trump and his organization. With any other defendant, there would likely be outrage over his selection. Merchan donated to President Biden. Even though the state bar cleared that violation based on the small size of the contribution, it later stressed that no such contributions were appropriate for a judge. We learned later that Merchan has contributed to a group to stop the GOP and Trump. Merchan’s daughter is also a Democratic organizer who has helped raise millions against Trump and the GOP and for the Democrats.
To his credit, CNN legal analyst Elie Honig has previously said that this case was legally dubious, uniquely targeted Trump and could not succeed outside of an anti-Trump district. On the judge, he recently challenged critics on the fairness of assigning a Biden donor who has earmarked donations for “resisting the Republican Party and Donald Trump’s radical right-wing legacy.” He asked “Would folks have been just fine with the judge staying on the case if he had donated a couple bucks to “Re-elect Donald Trump, MAGA forever!”? “Absolutely not.”
What is equally disturbing is the failure of Merchan to protect the rights of the defendant and what even critics admit were distinctly pro-prosecution rulings in the trial. It is not just the appearance of a conflict with Judge Merchan but a record of highly biased decisions. In watching Merchan in the courtroom, I was shocked by his rulings as at times incomprehensible and conflicted.
The Charges
A leading threshold issue will be the decision to allow Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to effectively try Trump for violations of federal law. The Justice Department declined any criminal charges against Trump under federal election law over the alleged “hush money” payments. The Federal Election Commission likewise found no basis for a civil fine. With no federal prosecution, Bragg decided to use an unprecedented criminal theory not only to zap a dead misdemeanor into life (after the expiration of the statute of limitation) but to allow him to try violations of not only federal election law but also federal taxation violations. In other words, the Justice Department would not prosecute federal violations, so Bragg effectively did it in state court.
Even when closing arguments were given, analysts on various networks admitted that they were unclear about what Bragg was alleging. The indictment claimed a violation under New York’s election law 17-152 that the falsification of business records were committed to further another crime as an unlawful means to influence the election. However, in a maddeningly circular theory, that other crime could be the falsification of business records. It could also be violations of federal election and taxation laws, which Trump was never charged with, let alone convicted of.
The Evidence
Judge Merchan allowed a torrent of immaterial and prejudicial evidence to be introduced into the trial by the prosecution. That included testimony from porn actress Stormy Daniels that went into details about having sex with Trump. She included a clear suggestion that Trump raped her. After this utterly disgraceful testimony, Merchan expressed regret but actually blamed the defense counsel, despite their prior objections to the testimony. He had previously chastised counsel for making continued objections, but now he criticized them for not continuing to make objections.
Merchan was equally conflicted in his other orders. For example, he allowed the prosecutors to introduce the plea agreement of Michael Cohen to federal election violations as well as the non-prosecution agreement of David Pecker on such violations. However, it was allowed only for the purposes of credibility and context. He issued an instruction that the jury could not consider the plea or the agreement to establish or impute the guilt of Trump.
The prosecutors then proceeded to expressly state that it was “a fact” that federal election violations occurred in this case and that Trump ordered those violations. They also solicited such statements from witnesses like Cohen. Merchan overruled the objections that the prosecutors were eviscerating his instruction. Merchan also barred the use of a legal expert, former FEC Chair Brad Smith, who was prepared to testify that such payments cannot be viewed as federal election violations and would not affect the election even if they were considered contributions, since they would not even have had to be reported until after the election.
Merchan is likely to be upheld in denying the expert, since the court retains the authority to state what the law is to the jury. The problem is that Merchan failed to do so. Worse still, he allowed the jury to hear the opposite in the repeated false claim that these payments were campaign contributions.
The Instructions
Even with all of the reversible errors, some of us held out hope that there might be a hung jury. That hope was largely smashed by Merchan in his instructions to the jury. The court largely used standard instructions in a case that was anything but standard. However, the instruction also allowed for doubt as to what the jury would ultimately find. When the verdict came in, we were still unsure what Trump was convicted of.
Merchan allowed the jury to find that the secondary offense was any of the three vaguely defined options. Even on the jury form, they did not have to specify which of the crimes were found. Under Merchan’s instruction, the jury could have split 4-4-4 on what occurred in the case. They could have seen a conspiracy to conceal a federal election violation, falsification of business records or taxation violations. We will never know. Worse yet, Trump will never know.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized that the requirement of unanimity in criminal convictions is sacrosanct in our system. While there was unanimity that the business records were falsified to hide or further a second crime, there was no express finding of what that crime may have been. In some ways, Trump may have been fortunate by Merchan’s cavalier approach. Given that the jury convicted Trump across the board, they might have found all of three secondary crimes. The verdict form never asked for such specificity.
These are just a few of the appellate issues. There are other challenges, including but not limited to due process violations on the lack of specificity in the indictment, vagueness of the underlying state law and the lack of evidentiary foundation for key defenses like “the legitimate press function.” They are the reason why many of us view this case is likely to be reversed in either the state or federal systems. None of that is likely to dampen the thrill in this kill in Manhattan.
But if Biden wins the election before this conviction is overturned, history’s judgment will be deafening.
Jonathan Turley is the J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at the George Washington University Law School.
My understanding is that the primary crime has to be proven in its entirety before you can move on to the “other crime.” The primary crime involves supposed falsification of business records, and you have to show that someone was financially defrauded by those business transactions. Then you can move on to the “other crime.”
You don’t get to jump to the “other crime” to find the fraud, and apply that to the primary crime.
For the last time: FALSIFYING BUSINESS RECORDS IS NOT LEGAL. And, when it is done for the purpose of influencing an election–it is a felony.
——Gigi the Pathological Liar
We can only hope that this is the last time that Gigi proves she is a moron and a pathological liar and no more an “attorney” than the man in the moon.
Lets break down her stupidity.
In her view, any influence of an election is a crime. Since another crime is what it takes to make FBR2 a felony.
Substituting her ignorance for the actual charging document.
The defendant, in the County of New York and elsewhere, on or about February 14, 2017, with intent to defraud and intent to influence an election, made and caused a false entry in the business records of an enterprise, to wit, an entry in the Detail General Ledger for the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, bearing voucher number 842457, and kept and maintained by the Trump Organization.
Once again, Gigi shows herself to have an IQ well below average.
She literally claims that influencing an election makes a business entry, a year later, a felony.
Like the stupid little girl that Watter’s interviews at the beach, she doesnt even know what Bragg was alleging.
Jonathan said many times that no one knows what the underlying crime is. Gigi proves he was right, by claiming it was “influencing an election”
I must really be scoring points for you to devote so much energy to attacking me personally. It is a FACT that Trump was convicted, by a jury of his peers, of 34 counts of falsifying business records. The reason he falsified the records was to cover up a payment to Stormy Daniels to purchase her silence about a sexual tryst. Who do you think you are to speak for what I think, anyway? Just like your hero, when you have no factual or logical rebuttal to something someone speaks or writes that you don’t like, you attack the person. It is a lie to say that “no one knows that the underlying crime is”–the jury spoke–Trump is guilty of 34 felonies for falsifying business records for the purporse of influencing an election. Trump wanted to hide yet another sex scandal after he got caught on a hot mic bragging about sexually assaulting women. And, the most-damning evidence came from Trump loyalists, like Hope Hicks, David Pecker and record custodians. I note that neither you nor MAGA media have ANYTHING to say about their testimony, which Blanche didn’t even mention in summation. Then, there’s Trump’s own admission that the money paid to Cohen was “reimbursement”–not for attorney services. Trump did engage in election interference, not just by colluding with Russian hackers to spread lies about Hillary (as found by a Republican-led Senate Committee that I’ve cited over and over again), but also paying off a porn star and having his buddy, Pecker, pay off a nude model he had an affair with, to hide information that he knew could influence voters, especially women voters, and especially after the Access Hollywood tape became public. It’s not that deep, really.
Golly Goo Goo, only to be rivaled by Bill Clinton and Bath house Barry in the sex scandals huh?
What’s your take on those two?
Bill Clinton DID pay an $850,000 payment to keep one of his multiple scandals out of the paper. He paid “hush money”. He labeled it, as he was supposed to, a “legal expense”. Trump didn’t actually file any paperwork, but had his people, after the fact, file payments, as his attorney instructed him to do. His people saw Cohen, and rightfully assumed it was legal expenses. He NEVER was shown to have ordered anything. Even Cohen’s illegal recording of his client in the most amazing ethical breech we’ve seen by Cohen, and that’s saying a lot, showed Trump didn’t know. The lie about Russian Hackers WAS a crime, according to the FEC, and it was a CRIME BY CLINTON, not Trump. You are literally showing us you have absolutely zero understanding of what happened. We’ve seen almost as bad show trials in the former Soviet Union. This was not a crime. It was a dog, with a bone, willing to share that bone with the “judge” who was illegally on the case to begin with, and they went after and took down their target.
YES, AND ALL CAPS! THAT MAKES IT TRUE!!!
Lordy, Republicans can never claim the high ground again.
Oh wait, they lost that back in the McCarthy days.
Well folks, lie down with scum…or something like that.
Don’t all politicians try to influence the election, couldn’t that hush money also be to protect the ‘Brand’, Trump.
It’s not that deep is your only correct assessment of your incredibly stupid assertions.
It is not the entry, but the act of concealing a criminal act. If you take a $1,000,000 deduction for expenses you didn’t have and fabricate records to facilitate the scheme, that is tax fraud, which would bump it up to a felony. General criminal intent suffices, and this statute has survived 35 years of challenge.
FAUX Whore Jonathan Turkey is simping for his supper, and he is no longer even subtle about it.
How do you account for the illegality of Merchan getting on the case to begin with. It was a 1 in 24 chance it was going to be a judge on the rotation. Merchan WAS NOT ON THE ROTATION. He was illegally selected, in violation of state law. He EXTREMELY harshly put his entire weight on the scales of justice to tilt it to try to take down the scalp of the man that he hates so much. You can’t refuse expert witnesses. He repeatedly sustained objections from the prosecution (including 18 in a 4 minute window) to disrupt the testimony of a witness, and the sole basis of the objections seemed to be “he makes us look like the lying bumbling fools we are”. He gave jury instructions that were so convoluted that Escher would be proud. He allowed unrelated and nothing but character assassination testimony in over repeated objections. When he failed to sustain a single objection about the unrelated salacious testimony, the defense gave up, knowing the fix was in. You want to celebrate the complete miscarriage of justice that happened. You should be terrified. If they can do that to someone as powerful as Trump, what will they do to a piece of scum like you?
After 245 years the Dimocrats decide to use the legal system to attack thier opponents in a desperate effort to retain power.
And we are supposed to discuss the trial?
Dimocrats are so stupid.
There was no falsification.
That lie only comes from allegedly listing a payment in the wrong column.
And then giving a biased jury multiple choice vague opportunities to convict in-unanimously.
Speaup: OK, so explain to me Weisselberg’s “grossed up” handwritten statement, explaining WHY the $130,000 was doubled to cover Cohen’s tax liability, so that he would net out the $130,000 he advanced on Trump’s behalf.
Where’s the proof that the jury was biased? Some of them testified in voir dire that they get their news from Truth Social and Fox. Didn’t Hannity explain this? New York is DJT’s home town. If anything, they’d be biased in his favor.
“New York is DJT’s home town. If anything, they’d be biased in his favor.” – Gigi, you are not engaging in good faith. Please stop.
8 of the 12 declared they were biased against Trump. The defense tried to strike them and the judge refused to allow it. That is a judicial “error” that was intentional.
Where is your evidence that Trump ordered it to be listed as legal expenses? If he’d listed it as campaign expenses, then he would have been in violation of FEC rules, as Hillary was.
“ If anything, they’d be biased in his favor.”
Yes. That’s true. If, If he was a “Registered-Democrat.” I would agree with you all day long. I don’t have a dog in this fight. I don’t vote. I’m not for President Trump, nor am I against him. Furthermore, I feel the same way, towards President Biden.
If anything, I feel sorry for both men. It’s quite obvious that half the country hates the other half. And every-time the presidential election comes around, regardless of who wins, the losing side will say that it was a rigged election.
Your stupidity reaches new heights and I applaud you.
Proving that intelligence has limits but stupidity has none.
Isn’t the candidates sole purpose in running for office to influence the outcome of an election? Influence voters to elect him/her? HRC/Philip Berg the original Obama birther movement.
The Left’s lawfare activists are attempting to resurrect the ghost of Taveras, to assert that the Trump case is based on “settled law.” (People v. Taveras, 12 NY 3d 21, 2009)
It is hard to imagine a more grotesque misreading of a case.
In Taveras, there already existed another crime, the one he pled to (a sex crime). That was the actus reus that elevated the business records charge from second- to first-degree. That already-established crime is the one Taveras intended to conceal via the doctored business records.
Please do point out that “another crime” Trump pled to. Or in the alternative: Please do point out that “another crime” that Trump was charged with, that was adjudicated, that a jury found him guilty of.
As opposed to Taveras, in the Trump case, there is no actus reus, anywhere.
For the lawfare activists, the Trump case is intent, all the way down. Trump intended to falsify business records in the furtherance of another crime. Trump intended to commit “another crime.” It’s a bloody circular argument, with intent as the weapon. And, yet again — no actual crime, anywhere.
“As a legal blog, you would hope [Turley] would make references to the law . . .”
As a commentor, one would hope that you would know how to read and understand existing law — not massage it according to your wishes.
General criminal intent is enough. Burglary analogy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVLBYTaDQRM&t=365 A $400K deduction for legal fees that weren’t is tax fraud to this old CPA/JD/MS-tax guy.
There was a way to do this legally, but Trump is Stupid Hillary. And too cheap for his own good.
The purpose of citizen juries is to provide a check & balance on prosecutors, judges and dysfunctional justice systems. The USA has a justice system that can “indict a ham sandwich” – meaning a highly flawed system of justice.
In the 21st Century, we have a U.S. Supreme Court that allowed Ronald Reagan’s torture treaty to be violated with impunity (also federal criminal law). None of the DOJ torture attorneys were indicted or disbarred from practicing law.
The DOJ and U.S. Supreme Court allowed the “opponents” of war crimes (those that refuse to torture) be indicted and sent to prison while promoting those that committed war crimes. Turley was very very vocal about this in the early 2000’s. Cointelpro style blacklisting still exists today in 2024 – thousands of innocent Americans still harassed daily by local and federal homeland security folks (Fusion Centers located in every state).
Jury trials (which the vast majority of defendants never receive) is the most legitimate system we have. Juries are designed to cut through the often times corrupt and dysfunctional systems of justice.
We should respect the jury. We need more jury trials for non-elite defendants to fix our broken system of justice. Why should elites like Trump only be lucky enough to get a jury trial?
Anonymous: Good point. Coincidentally, there is an article in The Intercept (6/1/24) “Guantanamo prosecutors accused of ‘outrageous’ misconduct for trying to use torture testimony”. A defense attorney for one of the detainees claims his client recanted his confession because it was obtained by torture. But prosecutors filed a brief saying the detainee had not recanted despite evidence to the contrary. The defense attorney, Stafford Smith, was so outraged by this prosecutorial misconduct he says he is going to report the prosecutors to their state bars. There have thousands of complaints about use of torture on Afghan and Iraqi detainees to obtain confessions used in court proceedings–even though the US is a signatory to the Torture Convention. That’s another “black hole” in our judicial system.
Dum dum dennis, who
Apparently doesnt realize everyone has moved on.
Oh, thats right, he posts his steaming turds for his own narcissistic pleasure
Anonymous: thank you for pointing out the critical imporance of citizen juries. It’s chilling to see that after Larry Hogan, a Republican Senatorial candidate from Maryland, said, when there was an announcement that the jury had arrived at a verdict, but before it was announced, that we should all respect the verdict whatever it was. Lara Trump and the Republican party immediately turned on him. What’s controversial about a call to respect a jury’s verdict, no matter what it is? Hogan was not endorsing the guilty verdicts because he didn’t know what the verdeicts were. it shows the depth of damage Trumpism is doing to our country and our justice system–promoting disrespect for the rule of law. As if this isn’t enough, Trump promises to go after his perceived enemies if he cheats his way back into power. He said, in a Fox interview, that he “could have” prosecuted Hillary Clinton–how chilling is that? In other words, he admitted that he was controlling Bill Barr and the DOJ and directing their prosecutorial decisions. Republicans repeatedly accuse Biden of manipulating the Manhattan District Attorney, despite the fact that there’s no evidence whatsoever. Also, if Biden was manipulating the DOJ, why didn’t he pardon his only living son? Republicans and MAGAites don’t have an answer for that one, either.
Merchan’s instructions seemed to be close to “Well, he was indicted, so you can see that clearly he committed a crime because he was accused. You don’t have to agree what the crime is, just that it was a crime.”
It’s bogus.
“Do [Republicans] want to spend the entire campaign stewing about Judge Merchan?”
If that weren’t tragic, it would be funny.
The Left grossly miscalculated the American public. So now it’s attempting to douse the arson it lit.
A judge who was (1) appointed by a defendant and (2) improperly interfered in a criminal in-vestigation (3) in a matter where the outcome would have a substantial likelihood of affecting her career prospects and (4) failed to disclose lavish partisan ‘gifts’, is not one in whose “impartiality might reasonably be questioned,” but a judge who buys a clever T-shirt is?
To work for Rupert Murdoch, you have to spread your legs.
If Trump Keeps Raging..
The Public Could Turn-Off
The GOP has spent months upon months laying the groundwork to make this fall’s election a referendum on Biden, talking relentlessly about stubborn inflation and spiking migration.
Quite a few Republicans see those issues as more advantageous ground than defending the party’s nominee after a conviction on 34 counts of falsifying records related to hush money payments to a porn star.
Even if GOP senators want to focus elsewhere, to win the messaging battle, they can’t escape the trial entirely. Congressional Republicans and Trump still have to share a ticket in November.
But it’s clear where Trump’s head is at, as he decries his treatment by the court and his party fundraises off the issue.
If Trump keeps that up, it’s going to be hard for Republicans to talk only about the economy, immigration and Biden’s record.
https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/06/03/congress/post-verdict-mistake-gop-hopes-to-avoid-trump-senate-2024-00161353
…………………………………….
At this point Trump will be the sourest apple to ever campaign for president. His conviction will dominate every speech he gives.
But where does that leave down-ballot Republicans? Do they want to spend the entire campaign stewing about Judge Merchan? Common sense suggests the public could burn-out on that.
There are no republican Incumbents in any danger in this election. There are a very large number of Democrat incumbents several in Red States.
While the impact of this Trial on Trump is not totally clear yet – though with each passing day that the polls remain stable it is more certain the election is over and Biden is toast.
This was your Hail Mary and you fumbled.
Or do you have something even more egregious and lawless to try ?
While I generally agree that Trump should focus on Biden’s failures. At the same time – Who am I to give Trump Political advice ?
2024 is likely to be the 3rd Time Trump wins the Presidency – but this time with a large enough populqar vote lead that Democratic Fraud can not change the results.
You do understand the mor lawlessness and lawfare you engage in the more you violate the rules, the more you do stupid things that no one sane has ever done before – the more you undermine anyone’s beleif in the other claims you have made.
You just stupidly convicted a former president in a star chamber banana republic trial of What ?
If People beleive EVERYTHING you claim – you convicted him of using the wrong words to record an NDA in his personal diary.
Isn’t this the political party that told us all that it was OK for presidents to lie under oath TWICE and obstruct justice TWICE to cover up having sex with an intern ?
Clearly you do not beleive your own claims.
Alas, alas for you
Lawyers and pharisees
Hypocrites to a man
Sons of the dogs who murdered the prophets
Finishing off what your fathers began
You don’t have time to scorn or to scoff
It’s getting very late!
Vengeance doesn’t wait!
….
Blind guides, blind fools
The blood you’ve spilt
On you will fall!
Republicans are going to spend this election talking about all the failures of Democrats.
Including not just targeting Trump – but Targeting anybody that disagrees with them politically.
Targeting pro-life protesters
Targeting Catholics.
Targeting the parents of school children.
Trump may have been the prime focus for your weaponized prosecutions,
But you made the mistake of using the same playbook far beyond Trump.
Will Republicans be attacking all this lawfare – absolutely – not just Merchan, and Bragg, but the entire corrupt democratic mess.
Why will most Republican house and senate candidates defend Trump ?
Because they could be next, and they do not have 7.5B dollars to defend themselves from this political weaponization.
But there will be plenty of time to talk about
inflation – which rose again
The economy – which dropped again.
The border – still a mess.
Incompetent foreign policy that has left the world aflame and the US looking like fools everywhere.
And the president who is either Demented or crooked or both.
“ Republicans are going to spend this election talking about all the failures of Democrats.”
But they can’t talk about THEIR successes. They don’t have anything to campaign on other than what they are against.
Trump being a convicted felon will force many republicans to confront or deny that reality. It will affect the election since it’s not just independents who will be reconsidering Trump, but women as well.
“ Why will most Republican house and senate candidates defend Trump ?
Because they could be next, and they do not have 7.5B dollars to defend themselves from this political weaponization.”
Or maybe they could just not commit crimes like Trump. They can avoid Trump’s fate by simply not committing a crime. What a novel idea.
Another steaming turd from George.
Trump got a 4% bump among independents.
Yet you think all those women who were gonna vote for Trump are going to “reconsider” voting for the “pussy grabbing convicted rapist” because he cooked the books.
LMAO
4% is not a lot. It can easily disappear before Nov.
What kind of fvcking idiot thinks conservatives cant talk about injustice, the economy immigration, and Bidens record?
Do you even think about what hack jobs like Politico are feeding you triolls?
Riverside Sheriff
https://www.foxla.com/video/1465270
Riverside County Sheriff says it’s time to put a felon in the White House.
There’s one there already.
Why don’t you take him on as a client–on a pro bono basis because he doesn’t pay anyway–and if you win (and if he wins) you can serve your dear leader as AG and enable America becoming like Hungary–now that’s quite a legacy.
Hungary has done quite well since the fall of the Berlin Wall. They rapidly moved past a failed left wing system and they have a working economy and government. They were slightly ahead of the rest of europe in shifting right as their countries imploded as a consequence of left wing nut failures. And we should be a little concerned – because the European right does not have the strong libertarian streak that the US has and therefore are more authoritarian.
Regardless, the US is not going to become Hungary – becausefor much more than a century we have been well ahead of Hundary and that is not changing.
Hungary is not a bad aspiration for much of the world – the US is better.
I would suggest that Milei in Argentina is a much better model for Trump II
Take a chainsaw to the deep state.
Trump BTW is not anyone’s dear leader. He is just the man with the chainsaw.
He is not going to fix everything the left has broke in this country – that will take decades.
But he will start the process – AGAIN.
You do understand that If Trump repeats the improvements he brought after the failed Obama administration – following the failed Biden administration, The left is toast.
“When I left the courthouse after watching the verdict come in, I was floored by the celebrations outside by both the public and some of the media.”
Ideological possession. Funny that ideas can have you without them being actually thought about. Curious.
CBS/YouGov Poll:
57% Jury Correct!
In a CBS News/YouGov poll published Sunday, 54 percent of independents say Trump received a fair trial, while 46 percent of independents say it was unfair. They were asked to assess the fairness of the trial, “regardless of how you feel about the verdict.”
Overall, most U.S. adults (56 percent) similarly say Trump got a fair trial, while 44 percent say he did not.
On whether the jury reached the right or wrong verdict by convicting Trump, responses are similar: 57 percent of U.S. adults say the jury reached the right verdict, and 43 percent say the wrong verdict. Among independents, 56 percent say the jury reached the right verdict, while 44 percent say the wrong verdict.
https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/4699168-majority-of-independents-say-trump-received-fair-trial-poll/
^^ Paid DNC troll. Ignore. ^^
Only in a banana republic would a trial in which half the people think injustice was done be celebrated.
When Dzhokhar Tsarnaev do you think that only 50% thought the Trial was fair ?
A criminal conviction is supposed to be beyond a reasonable doubt.
Nearly everyone should beleive any criminal trial resulting in a conviction was fair OR IT ISN’T
Nor should people be outside of any courtroom ever celebrating anyone’s conviction.
Certainly not one in which half the country things was a miscarriage of justice.
CNN
“An NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, conducted during the trial and released before Thursday’s verdict, found 67% of registered voters predicting that a guilty verdict would make no difference to their vote. Fifteen percent said they’d be more likely to vote for Trump and 17% that they’d be less likely to do so. Among Trump’s current supporters, 7% predicted they would be less likely to vote for him if he were convicted. Sixty-eight percent said they didn’t think it would affect their vote, and another 24%, despite already supporting him, said a conviction would make them more likely to vote for him.”
In most recent poll
90% of democrats admit to responding to polls as independents.
Oops
It would be difficult to make up headlines crazier than actual NYC headlines, as in this one:
Maniac bashes NYC bike shop worker with helmet before he’s stabbed by another man and bites cop
https://nypost.com/2024/06/03/us-news/wild-video-shows-maniac-bashing-nyc-bike-shop-worker-with-helmet-before-hes-stabbed-by-another-man-and-bites-cop/
Another one:
https://nypost.com/2024/06/03/us-news/juror-in-fraud-case-has-120000-bribe-delivered-to-her-door/
“II just want the voters to know that I am the most qualified candidate to prosecute the case against Donald Trump”
——Alvin Bragg, DA candidate
That’s probably true if corrected to “the most qualified WILLING to prosecute….”.
They were scraping the bottom of the barrel to come up with Fani Willis, Letitia James and Bragg ‘The Barrel’.
“Conspiracy to promote or prevent election: Any two or more persons who conspire to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means . . . shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
I’d never seen that language before. It seemed like there was something wrong with it. And thanks to Andrew McCarthy, I see what it is. That statute is stated backwards. There is no such thing as a criminal conspiracy to promote an election. Promoting an election is legal.
Merchan told the Jury they had to agree unanimously that an election was promoted. They did not have to be unanimous on the means that were used to promote the election. But promoting an election is legal. The unlawful means in this statute are actually the objects of a criminal conspiracy.
You’d have to state the 3 options Bragg gave using proper legal statutory language. Such as:
“Conspiracy to engage in FEC violations. Any two or more person who conspire to break FEC rule (12-24) in order to promote an election shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.”
Now that it’s phrased in a legally proper way, Merchan has to instruct the Jury that they must be unanimous about the FEC violation. As they would on the other 2 if necessary.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/06/the-other-crime-in-the-trump-trial-conflating-ends-and-means/?utm_source=recirc-desktop&utm_medium=homepage&utm_campaign=hero&utm_content=related&utm_term=first
This has been shoved up the nose holes of idiots here ad nauseam.
They wont have it. Its Trump!
These polls look horrible for Biden:
https://civiqs.com/results/approve_president_biden?uncertainty=true&annotations=true&zoomIn=true&map=true
Wait until Comer drops the bomb on the white trash Bidens!
The beautiful claims the viewer, changes him, and then sends him on mission
– Hans Urs von Balthasar
Wow! Estovir…….Nessun Dorma….my favorite!
Thank you, Estovir.
P.S. Do you remember Trump’s last July 4 at the White House…..the celebration was on the South Lawn…and at the end of the evening one of the NY tenors(picturedP sang “Nessun” from the “Juliet” balcony above the WH South door…..It was fabulous!! The Trumps are SO classy. Love it!!
See below as the coward formerly known as turdrunner, shows the power of the media, since the numbers in the polls he provides are essentially the exact same numbers as before the trial.
200 million and a 4% bump among independents together with this poll, shows that people know the pussy grabber paid off a porn star, and dont care.
Hopefully turdrunners mommy will return home from her glory hole gig at the local pool hall soon, and give the good boy his treat for a jobe well done.
Turdrunner neglects to post the video of beachgoers in new jersey being asked about the trial.
Interviewer: is Trump guilty?
Woman: well, everybody knows he did something wrong
Interviewer: what crime did he commit?
Woman: i dont know the specifics, i can look.
This is what turdrunner considers news, that liberals are a bunch of retards. As is he.
Quite a change to Biden’s little gay garden party when a trans jiggled his bare fake breasts for the cameras.
Estovir…….the tenor who sang Nessun at the White House 2020 was Christopher Macchio from Long Island.
Thank you, Estovir!
ABC/Ipsos Poll:
50% Okay With Conviction
A plurality of Americans, 50%, think former President Donald Trump’s guilty verdict on all 34 counts in his hush money trial was correct, a new ABC News/Ipsos poll finds, and almost as many, 49%, think he should end his 2024 presidential campaign over the result.
Forty-seven percent of Americans said they think the charges against Trump in this case were politically motivated, while 38% say they were not. At the same time, the slight majority at 51%, think Trump intentionally did something illegal in this case. Twelve percent think Trump did something wrong but not intentionally, and 19% believe he did not do anything wrong.
Because both Biden and Trump are broadly viewed unfavorably, the election could come down to independent voters, or even more specifically, those who dislike both candidates – sometimes referred to as double-haters.
A majority of Independents think Trump’s verdict was correct, 52%, and the same amount believe that he should end his candidacy. For double-haters, those reactions are even more pronounced — 65% of Americans who view both Trump and Biden unfavorably think the verdict this week was correct, with 67% believing Trump should end his presidential campaign.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/plurality-americans-trumps-guilty-verdict-correct-hush-money/story?id=110744698
………………………………………….
Only 19% believe Trump ‘did not do anything wrong’. That’s a fairy small percentage for what Trump characterizes as a ‘sham of a trial’.
^^ Paid DNC troll. Ignore. ^^
“Forty-seven percent of Americans said they think the charges against Trump in this case were politically motivated, while 38% say they were not.” So, by a margin of 9%, the voters thought that the proceedings were an abuse of the legal system.
I think the longer time goes on, the more Trump’s numbers will go up from this. More and more problems with the trial are going to be discussed.
Although I think cost of living and inflation are the main things he’s benefitting from.
I expect Trump’s numbers to go up. But I do not expect most people – outside places like this blog will think about it.
Lets frame this in the light most favorable to Democrats for the ordinary person.
Trump did it with a porn star, paid her off and is now getting his pants pulled down in publice.
Trump did not lie under oath.
He did not obstruct justice.
If you believe EVERYTHING that the left Claims, you still fall short of the misconduct of Bill Clinton.
You also fall short of the conduct of Joe Biden. Trump was not showering with his preteen daughters.
Trump did not destroy a booming economy,
Replace peace with wars across the world,
If you Beleive everything – this is still a Fizzle.
Bill Clinton became more popular after getting caught lying under oath.
There are several huge dangers for Democrats.
1). This appears to have failed and there are no cards left.
2). This reeks of fear.
3). This emboldens and empowers Trump’s base
4). This unifies the GOP – because democrats can do this to anyone.
5). This disheartens democrats (and independents). I do not think this will be a high turnout election. Trump voters will show up.
Democrats and independents wont.
6). This undercuts all democrats claims about Trump – this is like the Collusion delusion all over. If you do not wish people to beleive you commit election fraud – do not commit election fraud.
7). This increases the desire for and the broad public support for revenge. Do you really expect after this that people will be tearing their garments if Republicans start going after Democrats ?
EM – the polls that matter most are the swing state polls.
The next most important are the national polls.
Those are unchanged so far. If they do not head strongly down for Trump and soon – they will eventually rise.
What does not kill me makes me stronger.
There is a famous joke about two men and a bear. The men provoke the bear that starts after them.
One man stops and puts on his running shoes. The others says – what are you doing – you can not out run a bear.
The other replies but I can out run you.
The left has very successfully made Trump much worse than he is.
They have not been able to make him nearly as bad as Biden.
I am cautiously optomistic that The left has exhausted its array of tactice to destroy Trump and still fallen short.
And that maybe we will have a peaceful 4 years starting in 2025 – Once the children are done rioting and burning down DC.
At the same time – there does not seem to be anything that the left is unwilling to do.
The RCP poll of polls went down 0.3% for Trump until today. It rebounded 0.4.
I think what you call the double haters will stay home.
So far this has failed and increasingly the odds of it working decline.
If it does not work – if it does not bring Biden back to the lead – a tall order, then Democrats will be despondent and will not vote.
You say many people want Trump to drop out – I have seen polls that the majjority of Democrats want Biden to Drop out.
Do a majority of americans think Trump did something wrong ? Of course they do. He slept with a porn star and not a particularly attractive one when he had a supermodel at home who speaks a bazillion languages.
That is not merely wrong it is stupid.
I do not personally beleive that is true – Not because I do not think the Trump is incapable of cheating on his wife – that ship sailed.
Trump unarguably has an abysmal record for marital fidelity.
At the same time he STILL has an excellent record as a family man – and Biden does not. Trump is close to his family including children and ex-wives. His children have all done well – none of them are accused of multi-million dollar coke alcohol and hooker habits.
None are accused of selling the country out to foreign interests.
Or sleeping with their bothers widow.
There are no disowned grand children in the Trump family.
So yes the majority of people believe Trump did something wrong. And even if the Daniels story is a fraud – as it likely is,
there is zero doubt Trump cheated on his wives.
If Trump were running against Jimmy Carter – that might matter. He is running against a guy whose family is a mess, who sniffs little girls hair, and who gropes secret service agents and their wives and showers with preteen children.
Trump is not even close to a poster boy for Family values – But he beats Biden even in that.
So, are any of these MAGA lunatics calling for Fauci to go to prison going to comment on the fact that Trump never fired him, had Fauci speak regularly at briefings to the public with him, and awarded him a Presidential Commendation on his final day in office?
^^ Paid DNC troll. Ignore. ^^
Trump made the mistake of “trusting the experts” and “following the science” – which the MSM said he should do – rather than following his instincts.
Yea, it proves Fauci is one slick dude.
Also evidenced by the fact you still believe him.
LMAO… the retards never see it coming.
Fauxi lied under oath to congress repeatedly. That is perjury. It is far more serious than what you THINK Trump has done.
Should Trump have trusted Fauxi – absolutely not. But sending Fauxi to jail should not be a republican/Democrat thing.
It is a lying under oath to congress and the american people about something of great importance.
Trump could not fire Fauci.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/13/politics/can-trump-fire-fauci/index.html
Glory be
Trump told Sammy “The Bull Gravano” to drop dead. Sammy says Trump is a legitimate guy. What? Are we playing marbles?
Again, I personally think in the grand scheme this is about as meaningful as the impeachments or the J6, literally Hollywood produced, ‘hearings’. That doesn’t rattle me, as modern dems are are a regime and one wouldn’t expect a regime to do anything else; no, rather. ithe thing that bothers me is that they have literally used our laws and institutions to deploy their chicanery. That they are willing to do that is all you need to know about the modern DNC, and anyone that associates with them, from street corner to Apple. There is nothing redeemable about it, stop for voting for them or keep voting for fascism unless you are SO wealthy that nothing touches you, and lord knows there are plenty of you idiot. in post-apocalyptic stories, people wipe their bums with dollars, and if you don;t realize you are clowns, that is where we are headed. You are ignorant and ridiculous.
Dang, serious typos. Heaven help us that actually work and have to squeeze it in. The trolls get paid to do it while the rest of us try to actually make the world a better place, every day, even for them.🤷🏻♂️if there were any doubt that the rest of us speaking sanity are paid ‘trolls’, let this discount that forever. Paid idiots.
James no worries I figured you were typing on your phone. That’s when the typos really get me. On my computer it’s a lot easier to type correctly but I don’t always have access to it because other family members are using it.
Someone noted that what we saw last week was how dangerous these people are.
From Obama through to the present – the left has been pushing the limits, trying to expand the domain of conduct that is acceptable.
I am not expecting Trump support to decline – after a 0.3pt decline Trump gained 0.4.
What occured in Manhattan was Not about Trump – it was about how lawless the left will go.
Nor is it just about 20 somethings on college campuses. This jury is made up of what were supposed to be normal NYC democrats.
These people are not normal – they are not even close.
Worse they are dangerous and stupid. This nonsense will be terminated.
The only question is how.
Do sane courts slapp this down quickly ?
Does Trump win in a landslide and end this ?
Do Republicans go full in for tit for tat and start jailing democrats ?
This will end.
This was a mistake.
As Senator John Fetterman’s cognitive abilities improve, he becomes more conservative. Definitely *not* a coincidence:
https://nypost.com/2024/06/03/opinion/the-more-fetterman-recovers-the-less-hes-with-the-left/