Dem
47
GOP
53
Convicted felon Donald Trump got some news yesterday that was "good," but also expected, as Judge Juan Merchan imposed no sentence upon him despite a conviction for criminal fraud.
Explaining himself in court yesterday, Merchan said that "The considerable, indeed extraordinary, legal protection afforded by the office of the chief executive is a factor that overrides all others," making it impossible for him to mete out any punishment to Trump, the convicted felon. What Merchan did not mention is that, like AG Merrick Garland, he moved extremely slowly and cautiously so as to avoid the appearance of a political motive. In so doing, the Judge painted himself into a corner, with final disposition coming just 10 days before Inauguration Day.
Of course, Merchan's scrupulousness paid little in the way of dividends. Those who were convinced that the prosecution was just did not need the delays to be persuaded as such. Those who were convinced that the prosecution was not just, and was politically motivated, were not won over by the delays. That includes the convicted felon Trump, who did much carping yesterday, both in and out of the courtroom. He made liberal (conservative?) use of the phrase "witch hunt" and insisted he was treated "very, very unfairly." Of course, in addition to being a convicted felon, Trump is also a xenophobe and a racist, and so he reiterated his claim that the verdict came about because Merchan is a Latino and an immigrant (from Colombia). Conveniently, this overlooks the fact that a jury, which included approximately zero immigrants from Colombia, took less than a day to convict on all 34 counts.
The result of all of this is that the only price that the convicted felon Trump will pay for his crimes is that when he is sworn in the week after next, and likely for the rest of his days, he will be a convicted felon. He is the first president for whom that will be true (although, the way certain political parties are going these days, he may not be the last). It's probably the case that, for the ultra-image-conscious convicted-felon Trump, that kind of scarlet letter (letters? CF?) is much more bothersome than a few weeks in jail, or a fine. So, he might very well try to get the conviction overturned, as he is threatening to do. On the other hand, his odds of success are low, and continued legal wrangling will just serve to keep the matter in the headlines, and to remind everyone, over and over, that Trump is a convicted felon. So, maybe the lawyers who work for Trump—who is a convicted felon—will persuade him to quietly drop the matter. (Z)