So…a lot of emotions out there! From anger and sadness to jubilation and feelings of vindication.
But nothing has changed. Did anyone really expect a complete exoneration after a trial that should not have made it to court in the first place?
I know there were people hoping for a hung jury as a best-case scenario, but even that seemed unlikely to me. I thought it would be more likely that Trump would be found guilty on some charges and not others…but then after those jury instructions…that seemed unlikely too.
After a brief perusal of social media yesterday, it was clear to me that there were loads of emotional reactions. Everything from, “Whelp, that’s the end of our country as we know it,” to “When do we get the call? I’m locked and loaded!”
And that was in stark contrast with the celebratory cheers that “WOO HOO! THIS HORRIBLE CRIMINAL HAS FINALLY BEEN CONVICTED!!” and the calls to “Cry harder” if anyone attempted to point out why others are saying “whelp, that’s the end of our republic!”
And then there are people who are just SURE that the conviction(s) will be overturned on appeal. (I’m not so sure…the appeal still happens in New York…) These are people who still have some faith in the system (that has just been proven to be completely broken) to bring about justice based on truth and rational thought.
I think that ship has sailed. I hope I’m wrong. I rarely say that, but if I AM wrong, that would mean some legitimacy remains in the court system. But…I am (and have been) of the mind that the entire system is corrupt. Especially after the national news media covered for this show trial, doing everything in its power to convince the ordinary American it was legitimate...and were all too successful. (Pravda is alive and well inside The United States, it would seem.)
The vestiges of the Republic are still in place, but in reality the government is functioning as a tyranny. (I am referencing the parallel between where we now stand in the U.S. to what happened to the Roman Republic -- oh, and why not throw in how the Senate assassinated Julius Caesar too?)
Then there are those who say Trump will win the election and just pardon himself. There are two things wrong with that assessment. One, Trump is not guaranteed to win the election – even if he gets the most votes (js). And two, a president can only pardon federal crimes.
Which leads to the next theory I’ve heard online: that Biden will pardon Trump in some sort of chess move. But…a president can only pardon federal crimes.
And although this is framed as a federal crime, the federal government dismissed the case, and though there was no New York law actually broken in this case, the convictions are the gift of the state of New York, not the federal government. (Just one of the MANY problems with the entire proceeding.)
What happens next? I don’t know. The appeal must be filed in the next 30 days. If filed sooner, if there was any actual justice left in the New York judicial system, the entire verdict should be vacated with prejudice (meaning, the case cannot be filed again in ANY court – no double jeopardy).
Barring that (in my opinion) unlikely outcome, sentencing is scheduled for July 11. (Three days before the RNC where they are supposed to nominate Trump as the Republican presidential candidate.)
What happens then? I don’t know. There are lots of options for sentencing, from community service to house arrest to jail time. But the corrupt judge who made this debacle possible is the sole arbiter of that sentence, so... that should be interesting.
What does that mean for the nomination? I don’t know. Many people believe Nikki Haley will make a move during the Republican National Convention. That’s plausible.
But the reality is, being a convicted felon in New York does not preclude anyone from running for or winning the presidency – and once president, can Trump run the country from a jail cell or under house arrest? Legally, constitutionally, yes.
What happens next? I don’t know. But I do know that fundraising for Trump’s campaign got a HUGE boost yesterday. Not just from individual donors (there were so many trying to contribute, the website went down multiple times), but multiple businesses ended up donating the largest sums legally allowable.
What happens next? I don’t know, but the U.S. Supreme Court could intervene. They don’t have to – but if they choose not to, the issue will eventually land in front of them (from another front, possibly unrelated to the original case at all) – and then at that point, it will get very, very messy – even messier than it is now.**
What happens next? I don’t know. But I do know that there are a lot of Americans who have no idea what happened yesterday.**
I do know there are a lot of Americans who don’t know why if this conviction is allowed to stand, it truly does mean the end of the American way of life as we know it.**
I do know there are a lot of Americans who don’t understand that this ruling (if allowed to stand) will affect them PERSONALLY in every area of their lives.**
**I would love to discuss all the reasons why at length. Our next Freedom Academy session is set for June 25. Let’s see what happens next.
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