Donald Trump Was Never Unfairly Targeted.
His Sentencing Only Proves This.
Donald Trump was sentenced today, after being found guilty on 34 felony counts of Falsifying Business Records in the 1st degree. His sentencing came during a brief, virtual hearing in which Judge Juan Merchan delivered a sentence of “unconditional discharge.”
This was done due to his incoming position as President, and the protections Judge Merchan stressed apply only to the office not the occupant of it, it would be impossible to sentence him in a meaningful capacity.
However, this sentence allows the conviction to stand as legitimate in nature, despite Republican attempts to undermine it’s credibility. Though make no mistake, Donald Trump is the first convicted felon to become President.
What This Means.
The most important thing this means, is that Trump, at no point has been unfairly targeted in these legal proceedings. Which MAGA will of course disagree with on the basis he was sentenced alone. Though he is just a president-elect, not a king, he is not above the law no matter how bad Republicans wish this for him.
It making it to sentencing is what shows he was never unfairly targeted however, not the sentence itself. To get to this point, we first had to watch Trump take the case through 2 levels of appeals, and the Supreme Court, which each brought different levels of challenges to this verdict making it to sentencing.
Trump first appealed directly to Judge Merchan, on technical grounds of evidence which shouldn’t of been allowed due to presidential immunity. Merchan ruled that the testimony at the trial wasn’t subject to the Supreme Court decision on presidential immunity, and that regardless Trump had not raised the concern in a timely manner.
Then, Trump made a last second to appeal the conviction at the mid-level appeals court. Where Judge Ellen Gesmer rejected his request to indefinitely postpone the sentencing, essentially allowing himself into office where his DOJ can halt the case altogether.
The real nail in the coffin however, came with the US Supreme Court. Where Trump asked them to halt the case, and with a 6-3 conservative majority that includes 3 justice Trump picked himself, it didn’t look good for the case going forward.
However, in a shocking turn of events, Trump appointee Amy Coney Barrett and conservative Chief Justice John Roberts voted with the liberal Justices in favor of allowing Trump to be sentenced.
The other notable context would include Trump never once raising the issue of political persecution or unfair targeting on any level of the appeal, despite this being his main point on the campaign trail. Which shows that even he didn’t truly believe this was something that would hold up in court. Instead relying on technicalities and favorable Supreme Court rulings he’d hope they’d expand them to fit here.
So to sum up what happened, A state DA with no connection to the federal Department of Justice (DOJ), brought evidence of crimes committed by Trump. A grand jury of regular American citizens found enough there to indict him on.
Trump had his day in court, and his lawyers even had a direct say in jury selection. He was able to present his evidence where a jury also comprised of every day Americans then unanimously found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt on all 34 felony counts.
Trump then took the steps to appeal this verdict to Judge Merchan and to a mid-level non-partisan appeals court both of whom found no wrongdoing with how the trial proceeded.
Trump then signals to the Supreme Court for help, pleads his case to them, and they too find no reason to halt the trial. Including a Justice he appointed and the Chief Justice who is also a conservative.
So at every level of government, even with conservative Justices(one of which he appointed himself), there was no wrongdoing found in the trial. Instead, it was found the courts acted within the bounds of the law and that Donald Trump as a private citizen is not above that even if he is President-Elect.
Great article