Last Thursday, in a courtroom in Manhattan that voted against him 88-12% in 2020, a jury, heavily persuaded by a judge, who contributed to Joe Biden in 2020, convicted President Donald Trump on 34 counts of falsification of business records.
The case concerns payments that were made to former Trump attorney Michael Cohen in 2017. Cohen claimed the payments were reimbursement for a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with President Trump.
Trump contended that he never had a sexual liaison with Daniels and that there was nothing illegal about his payment to Cohen. Even though Daniels previously admitted that she did not engage in sexual relations with Trump and Cohen was exposed as a serial liar, who stole $60,000 from the Trump organization, the jury found President Trump guilty.
The verdict was outrageous for multiple reasons. The prosecutor who brought the charges, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, boasted during his campaign that he sued the Trump administration “more than 100 times.” If elected, he vowed to hold Trump “accountable” and continue an ongoing business records investigation. Not surprisingly, Bragg’s campaign received donations from a political action committee funded by progressive billionaire George Soros.
To make matters worse, not only is the presiding judge, Juan Merchan, a Biden donor, but his daughter, Loren Merchan, is a partner at a “progressive political consulting firm.” Her firm worked with the Kamala Harris presidential campaign, the Biden-Harris campaign, and the super PAC for Trump hating Congressman Adam Schiff (D-CA).
No wonder Judge Merchan forced a gag order on President Trump, gave hostile treatment to defense witness Robert Costello, and continually ruled in favor of the prosecution during the trial. In outrageous jury instructions, he finally described the “crimes” Trump supposedly committed and outlined relaxed options for conviction that did not require a unanimous verdict. When a defendant only learns of his “crimes” during jury instructions, it is obviously a “rigged” case in a kangaroo court.
Sentencing will be held on July 11, days before the Republican National Convention. Progressive legal analysts are already predicting that Merchan will sentence Trump to prison, despite such penalties being rare in similar cases.
This trial was the latest in a series of attacks that show the extent of how “Trump Derangement Syndrome” has infected the President’s opponents. The origins of this epidemic can be traced to the day in 2015 that the President descended the escalator and launched his campaign.
His announcement speech was immediately labeled as “racist.” When he refused to apologize, he struck a chord with Republican voters, but created unrelenting bitterness among his enemies.
Subsequently, Trump endured relentless persecution from his political opponents. For example, the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape was intended to destroy his 2016 campaign. He survived it and won the election.
Thereafter, Democrats began a campaign to persuade electors not to vote for Trump. When that failed, many Trump haters boycotted his inauguration and started plotting impeachment.
The bogus Steele dossier, which included charges of fictitious “Russian collusion” was used by the Department of Justice to spy on the Trump campaign. It eventually led to the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Despite a massive budget and a team of Democrat activist attorneys, Mueller concluded that Trump did not obstruct justice or collude with Russia.
Right after his exoneration, Trump faced the first impeachment charade, which was launched over his “perfect” phone call to Ukrainian President Zelensky. Trump was supposedly forcing Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, his political opponent, and withholding arms that had been authorized by Congress.
Of course, Biden should have been investigated for his actions in Ukraine, but Trump had to endure an impeachment trial and acquittal. This was followed immediately by the COVID pandemic, the George Floyd riots and the disputed 2020 election that featured the unprecedented mailing of millions of ballots.
Afterwards, many Trump voters questioned the election results and descended on Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, to protest. During his speech to supporters on that day, Trump encouraged his followers to “peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard.” He never advocated violence and, in fact, appeared on Twitter to encourage his supporters to leave peacefully and respect law enforcement.
In response to the chaos of January 6, Trump was banned from numerous social media platforms and impeached again. Thereafter, Congress acquitted him since he did not commit impeachable offenses.
The persistent harassment from opponents during Trump’s presidency was engineered to nullify his agenda, humiliate him, and end his political career. Thus, it continued after his presidency with the creation of a sham congressional committee filled with Trump haters. The purpose was to blame him for January 6, not perform a real investigation.
In August of 2022, Trump became the first President in history to have his home raided by FBI agents. Recently, Americans discovered the FBI authorized the use of deadly force and agents were carrying firearms.
After Trump announced another presidential campaign, he received four criminal indictments, totaling ninety-one counts and potential sentences of over 700 years in prison. Leading two of the criminal investigations against Trump is another biased special counsel appointed by the Attorney General.
Along with his criminal court troubles, Trump was found liable in two New York civil cases. Not only does he owe a woman he claims he never met, E. Jean Carroll, $83 million, but he also owes $454 million for supposedly lying about his wealth. Of course, the cases involved questionable charges and biased judges, so Trump is appealing. Yet, the process is expensive and time consuming, which is exactly why the Democrats are pursuing Trump on every front.
Despite facing potential financial ruin, incarceration, and the prospect of three other criminal trials, Trump is still campaigning as the leading presidential candidate.
Fortunately, the American people understand how Trump has been targeted and are continuing to support the most persecuted politician in American history.
Jeff Crouere is a native New Orleanian and his award-winning program, “Ringside Politics,” airs Saturdays from Noon until 1 p.m. CT nationally on Real America’s Voice TV Network & AmericasVoice.News and weekdays from 7-9 a.m. & 6-7 p.m. CT on WGSO 990-AM & Wgso.com. He is a political columnist, the author of America’s Last Chance and provides regular commentaries on the Jeff Crouere YouTube channel and on Crouere.net. For more information, email him at jcrouere@gmail.com
