Trump Surrounded by Criminals: Takes One to Know One I Suppose Lots of Lawyers, Too

Trump & 18 Others (7 very close to him)  

(All indicted facing trial (or deals) then other actions)

From MSNBC News this very timely article formatted to fit the blog:

“How Trump and His GOP Allies Spin His Historic Guilty Verdict”

GOP Points: Trump allies are saying things like: (1) Judge Juan Merchan was conflicted; (2) the jury was liberal, (3) the case is sure to be overturned on appeal, and (4) it amounts to election interference to boost President Biden, and (5) the finding will help Trump win over Biden. 

Trump saud in a rambling speech said: “We didn't do a thing wrong. I'm a very innocent man.”

Eight GOP examples of how Trump Allies went on the offensive:

1. Attacking the judge: To a person, Trump and his many defenders took aim at Judge Merchan who presided over the case, because of a small donation he made to Biden's presidential campaign in 2020. It echoed an attack they levied against him throughout the trial.

Trump said: “This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt – he should have never been allowed to try this case.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), also running to be Trump's VP pick, said on X that the trial was: “Conducted by an openly pro-Biden judge.”

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) in a tight reelection race, said in a Newsmax interview: “Merchan should have worn a Biden campaign Hat while he sat on the bench. The whole point of the criminal proceedings was so that Democrats could ultimately refer to Trump as a convicted felon. You and I are going to hear those words repeated by Democrats in the corporate media about 1 billion times between now and Election Day. That was the whole point is to scream, ‘felon, felon, felon, felon.’ This was politics and not law.” 

FYI: Judge Merchan donated $15 to the Biden presidential campaign in 2020 and $20 more to progressive organizations, all through the donation platform ActBlue. NY state court committee gave Merchan guidance that he did not need to recuse himself from the case because it did not involve his family or family business. Trump and his supporters also said Merchan should have recused himself because of his daughter's employment with a Democratic-aligned campaign organization named “Authentic Campaigns.”

2. Liberal jury: Another common refrain from Trump and his boosters was that the jury — and even the pool of prospective jurors in the beginning — was simply too liberal for him to get a fair trial because Manhattan overwhelmingly backed Biden in 2020.

Trump said: “It’s a rigged trial, a disgrace. They wouldn’t give us a venue change. We were at 5% or 6% in this district in this area. This was a rigged disgraceful trial.”

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) posted on X: “12 liberal jurors don’t decide who the next president is, we the people do.”

Sen. JD Vance (R-OH), also a potential Trump running mate, said on X: “The partisan slant of this jury pool shows why we ought to litigate politics at the ballot box and not in the courtroom.”

FYI Note: Trump's team was directly involved in the jury selection process, and Todd Blanche, Trump's lead attorney, challenged only one juror. The challenge was denied by Merchan, who said Trump's team did not have enough cause for it. Merchan also denied an effort to change the venue, which was seen as a long shot, one week before the start of the trial.

3. Election interference: Trump forces said the conviction was to boost Biden's electoral chances, as well as those of other Democrats.

Kari Lake (R-AZ) a Trump-backed Senate candidate said in a statement: “We just witnessed the most egregious example of election interference and an outright mockery of the rule of law in the 246-year history of our Republic. This entire process right down to the verdict itself has been nothing but a shameful political stunt.”

She then added: “This conviction should be immediately reversed upon appeal, and this legal tyranny will be summarily rejected by the American people on November 5^th.”

Bernie Moreno, the Trump-endorsed Senate candidate in OH also posted on X: “Joe Biden and his leftwing allies engaged in election interference to prosecute their top political opponent on bogus charges.”

FYI Note: There is no evidence suggesting the White House was involved with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s decision to bring the charges. His campaign sometimes jumped on developments, however, that included events outside the Manhattan courthouse.

In a statement after the verdict, Michael Tyler, the Biden campaign's communications director, said: “Donald Trump has always mistakenly believed he would never face consequences for breaking the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people face a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”

4. Overturned on appeal: Allies say verdict will be overturned on appeal.

Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), a Trump-backed Senate candidate said in a statement:

“I have no doubt that this affront to justice will be successfully appealed and President Trump will be cleared, but we cannot ignore Joe Biden and his allies’ reckless weaponization of our nation’s justice system and the long-term damage his malice has caused.”

5. Invoking George Soros (GOP’s #1 bogeyman): GOPers were quick to point out that liberal mega-donor George Soros is a supporter of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (FYI: No, he is not).

Trump said: “You have a Soros-backed DA.” 

FYI: Soros did donate to the “Color of Change PAC,” which supported many progressive prosecutors across the country, including Bragg in his 2021 campaign. 

CNBC reported people familiar with the donation said: “It was not earmarked to support Brag specifically or to pressure him in any way.”

In his statement after the verdict, Bragg went to great lengths to say Trump violated the law and “lie to boost his 2016” campaign saying in part: “Donald Trump is guilty of repeatedly and fraudulently falsifying business records in a scheme to conceal damaging information from American voters during the 2016 presidential election. Over the course of the past several weeks, a jury of 12 every day New Yorkers was presented with overwhelming evidence — including invoices, checks, bank statements, audio recordings, phone logs, text messages, and direct testimony from 22 witnesses — that proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Trump illegally falsified 34 New York business records.”

6. America is a banana republic: Trump allies made it clear they believed the verdict represented America's decline into something unrecognizable, labeling it a “Banana Republic or a sh*t hole nation.”

Donald Trump Jr., wrote: “Democrats have succeeded in their year’s long attempt to turn America into a third-world sh*t hole. November 5 is our last chance to save it.”

Bernie Moreno wrote on X: “This verdict is representative of a banana republic, not a democracy.” 

Others took aim at New York, a Democratic stronghold that is often maligned in redder jurisdictions.

GOP IN Senate Candidate Jim Banks wrote: “New York is a liberal s**t hole.”

7. This is good for Trump: Never mind that some voters might be rankled at the idea of voting for a candidate found guilty of felony charges — Trump and allies see that the political backdrop of the trial will help them energize their supporters and possibly even convert some folks on the fence.

Trump also said in a speech: “The real verdict is going to be November 5 by the people, and they know what happened here, and everybody knows what happened here.”

Eric Trump posted on X: “May 30th, 2024 might be remembered as the day Donald J. Trump won the 2024 Presidential Election.”

Sen. Candidate Jim Banks added: “Voters will convict our two-tiered justice system in November.”

8. A fundraising bonanza: While it will be months until Americans know the results of the fall election, the fundraising boost provided by the conviction will be realized in the hours to come. And many Trump allies and officials have already boasted of the success.

Sen. Rubio (R-FL) wrote: “The bad news is the Biden leftists in NY made a mockery of our justice system. The good news is Americans have sent Trump over $50 million since this travesty and his deranged enemies just elected Trump for President again!” (Rubio then posted a link to a Trump fundraising page).

My 2 Cents:  Amazing that too many lawyers close to Trump and served him (highlighted in the graphic above) are also indicted and some even admitting their guilt – a few also have been disbarred or have actions pending against them. That ought to tell the general public that Trump is unfit for another term in office.

Great examples are cited above. Proof positive.

Please Help get out the vote for President Joe Biden: President of, by, and for the people.

Thanks for stopping by.