Something Rotten

Well the Donald has now been found guilty of a white collar crime ......

Donald Trump Convicted Felon ....

..... after he is convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records. Making him a convicted felon while running for the presidency of the United States. 

Somewhat predictably he has declared the verdict a "disgrace" and stating that it was a "rigged" and politically motivated trial. He has said he will appeal the result, which likely means a retrial will be after the Presidential election (thus raising the possibility of a sitting president being in court next year). 

This particular conviction, was for hiding his pay-off to Stephanie A. Gregory Clifford aka 'Stormy Daniels,' made to stop her revealing details of their one time sexual encounter during a year long relationship (which he denies ever happened .... he also denies other sexual encounters with other women whenever they crop up), by calling them legal fees, after using his lawyer Michael Cohen, to pay her off and then repaying Mr Cohen using his business fund describing it as a legitimate business expense.

The conviction is on top of his previous conviction for sexual abuse and defamation of  E. Jean Carroll (he's appealing this conviction as well) .... as well as his two impeachments (in 2019–20 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after he pressured Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, and in 2021 for incitement of insurrection) ... his supporters in the Senate defeated both impeachments by narrow majorities. 

He also still faces 54 other felony counts, in three other indictments: a federal prosecution for mishandling of classified documents; a federal prosecution on charges of conspiracy and obstruction for efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election; and a state prosecution in Georgia on racketeering and other felonies committed in an effort to overturn the state's 2020 election results. So even if he loses this years Presidential Election, the US public will still face the unedifying spectacle of a former US President being in court on at least one, and probably several occasions next year. If he wins, then the US will look like a laughing stock with its president in the dock.

But does this bother the US electorate .... well apparently not. According to the polls he is still marginally ahead of President Biden in this years Presidential Election campaign. In other eras he would have had to withdraw from the campaign (if indeed he would even have been able to stand in the first place), but not apparently in the USA of today. 

Like many outside observers, I fear that this presidential election may not end well whether Trump wins or loses. To paraphrase Shakespeare there is something rotten in the state of the electoral body of the USA.