Trump NY Trial Goes to the Jury

We are moving toward the final chapter of the New York trial. There will be final arguments and the jury will receive instructions. Then, the jury deliberates. We might get a verdict by the end of the week.

Let us re-up that this prosecution was not a mistake. Chris Geidner noted:

For many, myself included, it seemed proper that Trump, who has long suggested that he is above the law, faced his literal day in court. Some people whose views I greatly respect, though, are less excited about this particular prosecution. It’s not that Trump doesn’t deserve to be prosecuted, they argue, but this prosecution is not the one that does the job.

Just Security:

The hush money payments were a significant matter for our democracy. The election of 2016 was a close one, in which Donald Trump was already coping with a sex scandal because of the Access Hollywood tape. Had the Clifford allegations emerged, they might have changed the outcome of the election. And the payments certainly seem to run afoul of the New York books and records statute. While bringing a felony case presents complexities, DA Bragg is to be applauded for taking the matter seriously. 

PBS summary, which includes the Michael Cohen prosecution, and the non-prosecution agreement of National Equirer's owner. See also:

As a part of the agreement, AMI admitted that it made the $150,000 payment in concert with a candidate’s presidential campaign, and in order to ensure that the woman did not publicize damaging allegations about the candidate before the 2016 presidential election.  AMI further admitted that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman’s story to prevent it from influencing the election.

The Trump Organization has been prosecuted. The CFO, Allen Weisselberg, pleaded guilty to 15 criminal charges including grand larceny, criminal tax fraud, and falsifying business records. Toss in perjury.

Why should Trump get away with it? The trial has forced him to sit in court, brought out in the court of law his wrongdoing (legal and policy-wise), and shown how the Republican Party is filled with his bootlickers. 

The Supreme Court and Judge Cannon have blocked justice in D.C. and Florida. Soap opera bullshit and the complexity of the trial held things up in Georgia (the D.C. trial was streamlined, all the good that did so far). 

I'm glad that at least one of four trials, depressingly the least important, has come to trial. But, campaign finance and business crimes are not nothing. Business crimes are particularly important for New York City, a business capital of the world. Campaign integrity has a special importance to our system of government. Many people are convicted of such crimes. 

Few people doubt he is guilty of something. If nothing else, he would "only" be guilty of misdemeanors. 

[I saw one discussion that granted he spent so little time in New York in the last few years that the statute of limitations did not run out for misdemeanors. Now, I see something about the jury instructions taking them off the table. IDK. The original comment stands as an original matter.]

Why did it take this long to try a case arising from events related to the 2016 election? Like impeachment and emoluments, the presidency has the potential to be a consequences-free zone. Mix in Attorney General Bill Barr and we got nothing.

 

Voting is fundamental. Vote to avoid the person calling critics "human scum" during his Memorial Day message. 

It is not the only check in the system. Brazil can disqualify a dangerous person from leadership until 2030. Others prosecuted leaders. Why are we so special?