Political Prosecutions – How Might They Affect the 2024 Election Year?
“American Pie,” by Don McLean, is the iconic anthem of the early 70s. It memorialized “the day the music died” when a plane crash claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens.
On May 30th of this year, the integrity of the American judicial system seemed to meet a similarly tragic fate. Donald J. Trump became the first American President convicted of a crime.
History was made, but sadly, for America, it was nothing to be proud of. It marked the first time a political candidate was convicted in a trial timed to coincide with our election season. It appeared designed to take down the Republican candidate for President. Something never seen in our nation before.
The crime? Well, it’s a little hard to define. It was something about a misdemeanor bookkeeping error that had passed the statute of limitations but was then somehow cobbled to an ill-fitting federal election charge with 34 counts concocted. One for each payment made to his lawyer for “legal fees” that the prosecution claimed were intended to illegally influence the 2016 election.
The star witnesses for the prosecution: a former porn star with a judgment against her for hundreds of thousands of dollars to cover Trump’s legal fees in a meritless lawsuit she filed a few years ago. Then there’s the convicted perjurer, disbarred and discredited former attorney Michael Cohen.
According to some who were in the courtroom, Judge Merchan seemed to reveal bias during the proceedings. A Democrat donor, Merchan seemed to have an axe to grind with the President, appearing to favor the prosecution while frustrating the defense by limiting their ability to produce witnesses and allow them to testify unimpeded.
Salacious prosecution testimony from Stormy Daniels was allowed. However, most admit that it had no bearing on the proceeding except a possible attempt to embarrass President Trump. Then, the icing on the cake was complex jury instructions allowing them to find the President guilty even if they disagreed on the actual crime. Huh?
Our guest on this week’s podcast is John D. Connor, a former federal prosecutor and author, who weighed in on the recent convictions in an opinion piece for Blaze Media, “This was as unfair a trial as this country has likely ever seen. The court allowed a massive amount of irrelevant and highly prejudicial evidence while prohibiting strong, admissible, and relevant exculpatory proof.” Conner added, “Judge Juan Merchan’s demeanor was unfairly pro-prosecution, sustaining virtually all the state’s objections and curtly denying the defense’s.”1 Don’t miss his unique perspective and insights shared during our conversation.
Shameful political and election-focused lawfare with lots of frivolous and iffy charges has as the primary target President Trump. But it is spreading. Swat-style raids on the peaceful homes of everyday patriots and an armed breach of the Trump residence, Mar-a-Lago, have demoralized and intimidated many.
We wouldn’t go so far as to tag May 30th “the day our legal system died,” as we stand hopeful that our nation’s Constitutional rights and high standards for justice will return. In the meantime, the faith of many has been shaken.
The plan is to take the former President out of the game for the 2024 election. Will it work?
Outrage in America
As the guilty verdicts were announced on newscasts worldwide, the American people offered a different verdict.
The TDR (Trump Derangement Syndrome) crowd thought that a “convicted felon” title would kill Trump’s political career once and for all. Then they heard the outrage coast-to-coast as countless Americans saw through the facade of the political conviction – and they raised their voices to say, “Enough!”
The cry is heard in the roar of tens of thousands who chant “USA” and “four more years” at each Trump rally. Almost anywhere he goes, endless lines of enthusiastic voters wait hours for their chance to be among the lucky who find their way into the always overflowing venues. With the electricity of a packed-out professional sports event or a sold-out rock concert, crowds come from everywhere to hear President Trump share his plan to make America great again.
Americans are also voting with their pocketbooks.
In the first few hours after the guilty verdicts, the Trump campaign received over 34 million dollars as its website struggled to keep up.
That amount grew in the next 24 hours to $58 million, and the momentum continued to build. It was reported that this groundswell of support came primarily from small donations of 30, 50, or 60 dollars – everyday citizens who were angered by the verdict.
That brought May’s total to $141 million, more than double the former record for the Trump campaign and WinRed organization. According to Trump’s senior advisors, nearly 30% came from new donors.
Hunter Biden’s Verdict in the Spin Cycle
Last week, First Son, Hunter Biden, was also found guilty in a slam-dunk case with lots of evidence pointing clearly to that verdict.
The justice of this trial was timed perfectly to spark a shrill chorus of left-leaning media outlets. Here’s the spin: Hunter’s verdict somehow proves that the Trump conviction was just. In unison, Democrats cite the integrity of the American judicial system and how juries get it right. They would tell you it proves that there is no two-tiered justice system. (Tell that to the violent Antifa rioters who committed crimes that were never charged and elderly pro-life protesters who now face lengthy jail sentences.)
“The purpose of this is, in the public eye to legitimize the Trump conviction,” former Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy recently explained on Jesse Watter’s Primetime. “It’s also designed to deflect the eye from what they should be going after the Biden family for, which is selling off our foreign policy to make their family rich, in places like Ukraine, where Hunter Biden has absolutely no business serving on the board of Burisma, a state-affiliated energy company, which happens to be the same country that we are now sending 200 billion of American taxpayer money to.”2
At the end of the day, other more serious charges that would link some of Hunter’s alleged crimes to President Biden have been side-stepped for now, with this gun charge and conviction. In some ways, Hunter seems to be “taking one for the team.”
Will it play into the Presidential election? Probably not; however, the spin offers a sliver of hope that somehow it could dampen some of the Trump fervor. Good luck with that.
Fake News Follies
It’s not about what’s happening with the mainstream media but how they can spin it. Most outlets have proven over the last few years that the “narrative” is more important than the story itself. It’s not what happened but how it is presented.
Fake news has spread about pangolins and wet markets, Russian interference in our elections, and disinformation. Ivermectin is horse medicine, and President Trump plans to lock you up and end Democracy in America. Yada, yada, yada.
Thankfully, Americans seem to be getting wiser. They no longer trust the press – and they shouldn’t. TV ratings reflect healthy skepticism in the departure of watchers from left-leaning outlets. Still, the well-synced messaging among lock-step liberals in the “news” business has a powerful voice that influences a segment of the population.
During a recent interview with Tucker on X3, Donald Trump, Jr. shared his frustration regarding the Hunter Biden laptop spin that impacted the 2020 election. He recounted that season’s narrative, that claimed despite proof, that it wasn’t Hunter’s laptop at all. “‘That’s Russian disinformation! Here’s 52 Intelligence officers signing off on it.’ Four years later, [they admit] ‘Oh, it’s actually his laptop.’ There’s no accountability for that either, but they’re like, ‘Don’t worry, we’re admitting it now.'” As if that makes it okay.
Trump continued, “But you got exactly what you wanted at the time. We understand there’s no accountability for it. That’s election interference as much as anything else. I think…17% of people said that had they known about the Hunter Biden laptop, it would’ve changed their vote in 2020.”
That example reveals that the other side will do pretty much anything to win. Anything.
Freedom Rings – as We Prepare to Elect our President
There is still reason to be hopeful and excited about this fall’s election. In November, we have the chance to restore our great nation. Trump continues to rise in some post-verdict polls, including two revealed last week: a 5-point edge in both Georgia and Nevada according to Fox News and Quinnipiac University polls, respectively.
We can’t say what surprises lay in store for this election season. There always seem to be unexpected happenings and revelations designed to shock the public into shifting their view at the last minute.
Will Judge Merchan put President Trump in jail four days before the Republican Convention? Will the Democrats stick with Biden or announce a new nominee this summer?
There’s a lot in play – and much that is unpredictable, so we must stand together and get involved.
Start with our MomVote site for information and ways to plug in and join your fellow proud American mamas as we prepare to make our voices loud! Also, check out others like True the Vote and The Heritage Foundation, who are working to report on and protect vote integrity in the US.
And as always – don’t forget to pray for our nation as we approach November 5th. May God bless and save the United States of America!
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