In a first in the history of the United States, a former President has been convicted, not just on one count, but on 34 felonies. In the election interference case in New York, unfortunately referred to as the “p*rn star hush money” case, a jury was unanimous in its decision to find Trump guilty on all counts. Of course, that hasn’t done anything to the Donald’s base of support other than cause them to feel even more justified in their disdain for “blue” states and compel them to send their “billionaire” leader more than $50m in new campaign contributions since the verdict.
But what about the small number of undecided voters out there, the ones who don’t actively follow political news and who are turned off by politics in general? Will a criminal conviction be a bridge too far for swing voters? After all, this election will likely closely resemble in many ways 2016, insomuch as it will probably be decided by only tens of thousands of people in just a handful of states.
Now, back to the convicted former president. What will his future be? Sentencing is set for July 11 in New York, just before the Republican Party is set to hold its convention in the swing state of Wisconsin. While he technically does face up to four years of incarceration in the Empire State, will the court even consider that particular avenue given Trump’s age and the fact that he is the presumptive Republican nominee? Then there’s the question of whether Trump will face any consequences in this case given the fact that he is set to appeal. Yet given how deferential the trial court was to the GOP frontrunner as a criminal defendant, it’s hard to imagine what the grounds for an appeal would even be.
All of this comes before we can consider the almost incalculable number of possibilities the future holds for Trump as he faces numerous other counts in other jurisdictions. The stolen classified documents case, overseen as it has been by one of his own appointees to the federal bench in Florida, has been frozen by judge Aileen Cannon. Though that case is irreparably stagnated and will not proceed to trial before the election, there still remains the election interference case in Georgia as well as Jack Smith’s January 6 case, which now has the Supreme Court poised to answer the absurd question of whether Trump, as an ordinary citizen who once occupied the White House, is entitled to absolute immunity. The fact that we’re even at the point where that is being taken seriously as a question is chilling.
All that and more on this episode. Aleem is out this week so it’s just the quasi-legal nerds, Christian and John. Check it out!
#hushmoney #newyorkfraud #donaldtrump #ethics #criminality #2024election #fraudcase #trumpfraud #jacksmith #aileencannon #fanniwillis #alvinbragg
Trump's a Convict. Now what?!