Surprise! Surprise!
I am sure that most everyone has heard the news around the legal battle for Trump….the truth is the verdict surprised me…..
For those that have avoided the circus of this trial….there is some good news.
A Manhattan jury has found Donald Trump guilty of all 34 counts he was charged with in his hush-money trial, making him the first onetime president to become a felon. Trump sat expressionless and slack at the defense table, the New York Times reports, as he heard “guilty” read in court 34 times on Thursday afternoon. Cheering from the street below, where supporters and opponents of Trump assembled, could be heard in the hallway outside the 15th-floor courtroom. As jurors filed out, they did not look at Trump, and he did not look at them. Minutes later, the former president and current candidate told reporters, “I’m a very innocent man.”
Prosecutors accused Trump of falsifying internal business records to cover up hush-money payments tied to an alleged scheme to bury stories that might torpedo his 2016 White House bid, per the AP. At the heart of the charges were reimbursements paid to Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen for a $130,000 payment to porn actor Stormy Daniels in exchange for not going public with her claim about a 2006 sexual encounter with Trump. Prosecutors said the reimbursements were falsely logged as “legal expenses” to hide the true nature of the transactions. Trump has denied any wrongdoing. The charges he was convicted of are punishable by up to four years in prison.
The jury of 12 New Yorkers had deliberated for 9½ hours hours over two days. The verdicts the panel returned involved 11 counts related to invoices, 12 related to ledger entries, and 11 involving checks. Trump still faces charges in three other criminal cases elsewhere, per the Washington Post. He has pleaded not guilty in them and called the prosecutions politically motivated. All are embroiled in motions and delays and seem unlikely to go to trial before the November election.
“I am a very innocent man”….now there is a damn hoot! I can think of a lot of things to say about Donald the Orange….but innocent is not one of them.
Now we go to the sentencing phase of this drama…..
The jury in Donald Trump’s hush-money trial has been dismissed, and case moves to the next phase. Because the crimes are nonviolent, experts say Trump is unlikely to be detained before sentencing. Here’s what’s ahead:
- Sentencing: Judge Juan Merchan scheduled Trump’s sentencing for 10am July 11, CNBC reports. He told all parties to file relevant motions by June 13. Included in this step are sentencing memos from the prosecution and the defense arguing for the punishment they want to see Merchan order. The defendant usually is interviewed by a probation officer who asks about personal history and any criminal record, information that goes into the presentence report. A psychologist or social worker also could interview Trump.
- Possible punishments: Trump was convicted of nonviolent Class E felonies, New York’s lowest level, per the New York Times. The counts are punishable by 16 months to four years in state prison. As a first-time offender, Trump is unlikely to receive prison time, legal experts said. Merchan could impose probation or home confinement.
- Probation: The terms could require Trump to receive approval from his probation officer to travel outside his home state, Florida, per the Washington Post. He probably would have to report to his probation officer regularly.
- Appeal: Trump’s lawyers have 30 days to file notice of an appeal. “We’ll keep fighting, we’ll fight till the end and we’ll win,” Trump said after the verdict. It’s possible that sentencing will be stayed while an appeal plays out, which could postpone any punishment past Election Day.
- The election: Trump remains eligible for election to the presidency, and there’s nothing to keep him from serving if he wins. He may not be able to vote for himself, however, per the Times; Florida requires felons to have completed their entire sentence, including probation, before again being allowed to vote.
Few thought he would be convicted…..he has been so what’s it gonna be with the sentencing?
Probation? Prison?
I have little faith that he will go to prison (a place he should have already been)…..my guess is probation and fines.
With this conviction how will that play in November?
Please let your thoughts be known.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
I do have a question. This applies whether the conviction stands or not. This isn’t specific to Trump. I want to know why convicted felons can run for president? Most states don’t even let convicted felons vote, for heaven’s sake, but one who has been found guilty of a felony can run for president? This makes no sense to me
The answer is yes he can….the Constitution does not stipulate….but an excellent question about voting….that could be a major lawsuit…..good ones chuq
For me the concern is less about the speculation of Trump’s potential punishment. This trial’s true success was that the Constitutional process and the institution following it in fact worked.. which means it was FOLLOWED, whether Trump was to be convicted or not. There is NO hats & horns celebration here. A former president was indicted for a felony list of 34 crimes. Those indictments alone against a former president raise questions about those who occupy the office because of a public trust that, in the case of Trump, was a betrayal of that trust… to those who voted for him and to all Americans who believe, and have faith, in the Constitutional process and the institutions that carry that process forward. In this case, justice was served (even if a future appeal goes the other way) and the victory is with our Constitution.
That being said… looking from the 30,000 foot level, what we are being witness to with the inherent continued political polarization with one side attacking nearly every Constitutional institution (and loudly proclaiming retribution), is EXACTLY what we will see should Trump lose in 2024… a complete denial of the electoral results and ultimately the process… and the risk of another “Jan. 6” or far worse. This is a dark time for the nation and this case is a harbinger of things to come in November (if not sooner).
In the least, we better make sure Trump gets the best medical attention as possible because anything that happens to him will just incense his followers with grandiose conspiracies.. and into martyrdom he goes. There’s so much more to concern ourselves with than how he will be punished.
I agree…..his followers are already out and about in support condemning the trial and conviction…..as an ex- president he does have excellent healthcare….chuq
Let’s keep in mind.. that excellent healthcare is provided by other Americans that have their own political bias and if some probe isn’t inserted into Trump in just the correct way to save his fat ass… we are going to learn the doctors’ political affiliation as a reason for “substandard” care.. or.. being paid off.
I vote for ‘paid off’ chuq
Next, I await the appeals. They could drag on for years. This was only ‘phase one’.
Best wishes, Pete.
Exactly…..glad he was found guilty but the real justice comes when he has to pay up chuq
One aspect of this is how his son now refers to the United States as a “shithole” country…and yet they want to lead it…shameful talk about America
That idiot son also hunts giraffes so he is a worthless lump of stuff in my book and I do not listen to him at all. chuq
Yes the “big game hunting” is despicable as well…
I totally agree….there is no call for such acts/. chuq
Here is how it will play in November… He will be president again. Period. That has been the plan all along and the guilty verdict is a great platform for fund raising and playing the political victim. He has a win win situation all around.
I do not think he is a shoo in as many think….we will see. chuq
I don’t think he’s going to win either. The GOP politicians might be lining up solidly behind him along with the MAGA crowd, but he’s lost the independent vote entirely, along with even some of the Evangelicals. He is now a self confessed and entirely unrepentant adulterer. The way things look right now the GOP is going to lose the presidency, plus they will lose even more seats in the Senate and they’re going to lose their tiny majority in the House.
It is lining up[ as you describe but sadly a lot can happen between then and now…..the youth vote may be telling. chuq