His reputation, future, and even perhaps the White House’s destiny, will on Wednesday be placed in the hands of 12 citizens of his native New York City, proving that not even once-and-possibly future commanders in chief are above the law.

Seven men and five women jurors will retire for deliberations on Trump’s six-week hush money trial after Judge Juan Merchan instructs them on the law and their duties. No jury in American history has faced such a task — deciding whether a former president and presumptive major party nominee will be convicted of a crime. And while the jury, which can deliberate for as long as it needs, is bound to decide its verdict on 34 felony charges on the testimony and evidence in the case alone, its decision will reverberate across the nation and the world at a critical moment of the 2024 presidential election.

The trial slogged toward its end on Tuesday in nearly 10 hours of closing arguments that burst into open hostility between rival lawyers.

“You have to put aside the distractions, the press, the politics, the noise. Focus on the evidence and the logical inference that can be drawn from that evidence,” prosecution lawyer Joshua Steinglass told the jury.

“In the interest of justice and in the name of the people of the state of the New York, I ask you to find the defendant guilty. Thank you.”

  • the_frumious_bandersnatch@programming.dev
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    5 months ago

    He’ll be convicted of at least some of the counts, but will immediately begin appealing the decision and won’t face any consequences before the election.

    Maybe the fact that he’s now a “convicted felon” will sway some people, but my guess is that most will simply move their own internal goalposts “since it’s still being decided on appeal”

    • Kit@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      5 months ago

      I’ve already seen bumper stickers to the effect of “The people decide the president, not the courts.” I doubt that a guilty verdict will sway anyone’s opinion, sadly.

      • Cosmoooooooo@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Fuck that, you pessimistic piece of dust. Just gotta put all your doubts and fears out there. Boo hoo.

        He’s going down. People are going to notice. It will change people’s minds. All of them? Nope, fucking obviously. But it will change plenty of minds. Even if it’s from a Republican vote to “I’ll vote Republican when they can field a non-felon.”

        Keep your shitty pessimism to yourself.