Stacks of physical evidence. Weeks of testimony from corroborating witnesses. Twelve ordinary citizens on a jury listened carefully to the prosecution and defense present their cases. And they came to one unanimous verdict: former President Donald Trump was guilty of 34 felonies.
In almost any other time, Republicans would have been reading the GOP Party bylaws at breakneck speeds, desperate to find the fastest way to ditch a convicted felon from the ticket. These are not normal times. Instead, Republicans have doubled down on the former president’s and now-convicted felon’s mistruths, distortions, and outright lies about the case.
Let us consider them.
Trump’s first and most brazen lie is that he is innocent. In this criminal case, there was a very high bar to clear to convict.
First, Trump had the right to help select which potential jurors ended up on a jury. Second, the burden of proof was on the prosecution; the defense did not even have to present a case. Third, the jury had to believe that Trump committed his crimes “beyond a reasonable doubt.” Fourth, and perhaps most importantly: even one juror harboring doubt could have meant a hung jury, but all twelve men and women unanimously agreed that Trump was guilty on all counts.
Yes, the former President has the right to appeal his felony convictions. But it seems unlikely that an appellate court will see something that the original jurors and judge did not see.
Another of Trump’s bogus claims is that the Biden administration and the District Attorney conspired to bring unprecedented charges against Trump. We should be clear: President Biden had nothing to do with this trial. It was a state-based case. As for DA Alvin Bragg, many on the far right have falsely claimed he promised to prosecute Trump on the campaign trail. No matter how they try to misconstrue the truth, it is simply not true. Instead, the DA followed the facts to bring the charges in the first place.
Related to this is the claim that no one else besides Trump would be charged with the campaign finance violations that are at the root of the case. Again, this is wrong. Trump attempted to hide $130,000 in hush money payments to an adult film actress from voters, violating election laws.
Time and time again, law enforcement and prosecutors have gone after politicians in similar scenarios.
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The Obama-era Department of Justice brought charges against former U.S. Senator and presidential candidate, John Edwards, a Democrat, following hidden payments to his former paramour during his campaign. Former Democratic Governor Mike Easley was convicted for concealing campaign expenditures that should have been disclosed. And a number of other politicians have been prosecuted and convicted for violating campaign finance laws.
Many these laws grew out of another former president’s gross violations of justice: Richard Nixon. How Republicans handled Nixon 50 years ago stands in stark contrast to how they have dealt with Trump today. Back then, many principled conservatives stood up to the lawlessness that had taken hold in the White House and worked with Democrats to build the guardrails to try and prevent it from happening again.
It’s sad to see the lack of courage and moral principle from Republicans today, who have fallen in line with a convicted felon.
While there are some who are unwilling to surrender their love of Trump, I urge all Americans to see past his lies and spin — the day when we stop holding powerful politicians to account is the day we turn into a banana republic.
Mark Takano represents California’s 39th congressional district.
