Was The Trump 'Hush Money' Trial Rigged?

Was the Trump “Hush Money” Trial rigged? The day after the Trump guilty verdict of May 30, 2024, many news outlets displayed illustrations and headlines reflecting joy and celebration. But many people (Trump supporters or not) are very upset with the outcome of the New York trial of the former president and Republican hopeful in the 2024 election. Was the trial “rigged?” What follows are just a few points for you to research on your own. One conservative media source (Real America’s Voice News) interviewed New Yorkers who, although hoping for a hung jury, mostly agreed that an acquittal was virtually impossible in New York City, even though there were many reasons why this should not have been the case. Here are a few:  “Falsifying business records” is a misdemeanor, not a felony. In order to charge Trump with a felony, the prosecutors had to attach it to “another (unnamed) crime.” In the jury instructions, jurors were told they didn’t have to agree on what that other crime might be. Trump was never charged with violating federal election laws. How can a state convict a person of a federal violation a person was not convicted of? The New York prosecutors accused Trump of violating federal election laws by falsifying his business records when hush money payments allegedly made to prevent the story from destroying his chances to win the 2016 election were recorded as “legal expenses.” Some conservative pundits have argued that the payment was, in fact, a legal expense—a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), a common legal transaction, not a crime. Trump’s election experts (we don’t know who they were) were not allowed to testify. Trump requested but was denied a change of venue. In view of the common perception of New York’s left leaning bias, Trump’s defense team had requested a change of venue. New York  reportedly votes about 85% Democrat. Judge Juan Merchan demonstrated his bias by reportedly verbally abusing defense witness Robert Costello, who looked at him after the judge sustained a number of objections by the prosecution. Merchan reportedly yelled and screamed, accusing Costello of trying to “stare him down.” This would not have been seen by the public because… No television cameras were allowed in the courtroom. One might conclude that the judge didn’t want the public to witness the way he conducted the trial. Article 6 of the Constitution guarantees the “right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.” New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg allegedly ran on the promise to “Get Trump.” Surely this should have disqualified him from bringing these charges. The Constitution requires due process for all U.S. citizens (Amendments 5, 6 and 14, Section 1. Amendment 14, Section 1 also guarantees “equal protection of the laws.” And finally, a “unanimous” guilty verdict by the jury in this case did not even consist of agreement on all the charges. They could just agree on four each. The three “areas to consider” were (1) a violation of federal campaign finance laws, (2) falsification of other business records and (3) violation of tax laws. There had been no reporting on numbers 2 and 3 in the news and little clarification on number 1. Right leaning news sources and social media posts were asking, “What’s the charge?” Were all these charges proven beyond a reasonable doubt? Was the public even informed of what the 34 charges were? This entire process is surely deserving of scrutiny by the American people, who are supposed to keep the government in check, not the other way around. Trump defense attorney Alina Habba concluded an interview on Real America’s Voice News Friday morning saying, “ The real jury is the American people. November 5 is the real day.” Trump will appeal the conviction. Some, namely Emeritus Professor of Law Alan Dershowitz, are not sure the verdict will be reversed on appeal in a New York court. The next step would be the U.S. Supreme Court. Will they take the case? Will the House of Representatives or the Department of Justice investigate these inconsistencies? Will the American people rise to the occasion and do their homework to preserve our Constitutional Republic or will the sleeping giant go back to sleep in a day or two? Will people decide not to vote at all? We are the people, and we are supposed to be sovereign, not biased state courts. Published on May 31, 2024 in https://asmycogsturn.wordpress.com