Robert McElvaine writes: "If some way could be devised to get around the tsunami of disinformation from Russians, Trumpsters, and other authoritarians inundating a large fraction of the American citizenry...the mortal danger to the American Experiment in democracy and the rule of law would evaporate."
If all Americans could be made a jury, the threat to democracy, freedom, and the rule of law would evaporate.
The most important takeaway from the verdict in The People of the State of New York v Donald J. Trump—which Heather Cox Richardson has nicely summed up as “Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Guilty.”—is that it demonstrates what happens when Americans are presented with the facts.
One of the jurors said in voir dire that she gets her news from “Truth Social.” Another liked the way Trump speaks his mind. One watched Fox “News.” Yet when they were presented with factual evidence, they unanimously concluded that it was beyond reasonable doubt that Trump interfered in the 2016 Election by paying to prevent the American voters from knowing some of the things he has done.
Contrary to the conventional wisdom that this case was the least important of the crimes with which Trump has been charged, it was, in one significant sense, the most important.
Had he not stopped the truth of his sexual encounter with Stormy Daniels a few months after his wife had given birth to his son, which would have come on top of the revelation of his “I did try and fuck her. She was married” and “Grab them by the pussy—You can do anything” statements in the Access Hollywood tape, he would likely have lost the 2016 Election. Hillary Clinton likely would be nearing the end of her second term as president, and the whole national nightmare, the Supreme Court denying women’s right to control their own bodies, and all the rest through which we have suffered for the last seven-plus years would never have happened.
If some way could be devised to get around the tsunami of disinformation from Russians, Trumpsters, and other authoritarians inundating a large fraction of the American citizenry via YouTube, TikTok, other social media, and right-wing media outlets and instead sit calmly and learn facts, the mortal danger to the American Experiment in democracy and the rule of law would evaporate.
Our best minds need to focus on how placing the American electorate in the position of a jury can be accomplished.
Stuart Stevens writes, "All that was asked of these weak men and women of the GOP was to reject a man who violated every value they had spent their careers espousing. But at every turn, whenever given a chance to distance themselves from the odious Donald Trump and the collection of grievances and hatreds that form Trumpism, they chose to pull Trump closer."
Teri Kanefield looks at the fundamental principles that shape our understanding of crime and punishment, tracing the historical and cultural evolution of these concepts.
Thursday marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day -- hear why Joe thinks the contrast between Trump and President Biden has never been clearer. And do not believe the media both-sidesing - being convicted of 34 felonies is very, very bad for Trump. Joe shoots down the fantasy that it actually *helps* him... and how should we all be campaigning about the verdict? And we check in on the rest of the campaign -- what new data is Joe looking at that shows Trump is toast?
From detailing the rights of individuals to appeal adverse rulings to unraveling the complexities of different court systems and levels of appeal, Teri Kanefield offers a thorough exploration that enlightens readers on the pivotal significance of this legal process.
