By John Johnson II
“No one is above the law, not even a former president or those who give aid and comfort for the commission of crimes! John Johnson II, 06/05/24
Justice in America isn’t always blind or impartial for privileged white people. The privileged treatment afforded former president Trump is detestable and unlawful. Consequently, the criminal indictment of Trump on March 25, 2023, followed by his guilty conviction on May 30, 2024, are both dates of infamy.
Trump received an indictment for 34 felony counts. Twelve jurors listened to the prosecuting attorneys attempting to convince them of Trump’s guilt while defense attorneys defended his innocence. However, another element, proving “intent,” constituted another vital factor in determining the prosecutors’ success.
Trump manipulated campaign financial records in this illegal scheme. The prosecution presented iron-clad exhibits documenting his role. From the beginning, it looked like an open and shut case.
The seven-week trial was intense and grueling. The prosecutors and defense attorneys presented all their evidence and delivered their closing arguments to the jury. Yet, an equally crucial step remained: Judge Juan M. Merchan needed to instruct the jurors on the law.
Once the jurors received their final instructions and analyzed this overwhelming evidence for two days, they unanimously found Trump guilty of all 34 felonies.
Pundits like House Speaker Mike Johnson called for the Supreme Court to “step in.” Republican Senators John Thune and John Cornyn called the verdict politically motivated and a disgrace, respectively. Republicans have turned “ law and order” into “Crimes for Order.” Sen. Rubio denounced Castro but has continually bowed down to Trump. Have they no shame? Is Trump threatening to serve them Kool-Aid?
Before Americans can exhale, there remains another date of Infamy, July 11, 2024, the sentencing date. Republicans and MAGA supporters have cried out that there should’ve never been a trial. As a first-time offender, there certainly need not be any jail time.
Trump is a career lawbreaker. Court records show he paid $25 million in 2018 for duping college students, promising to teach them the “secrets of success” in real estate. On May 9, 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse of Jean Carroll. There’s more! On January 26, 2024, a jury ordered Trump to pay Jean Carroll $83.3 million for defamation. Currently, he’s facing three additional cases totaling 54 counts.
Again, Trump isn’t a first-time criminal by a long shot. It’s his first conviction for violating election finance laws and attempting to overthrow his government. Had he committed these crimes during his first term, he would still be in prison.
There’s no shame in locking up a convicted former president—especially one who disgraced the presidency by behaving as a petty criminal. The real shame would result from not sending him to prison. No one who becomes president should ever think he/she has absolute immunity from prosecution, conviction, and prison time.
America’s patriotic voters should demand the construction of a maximum prison exclusively to house a former or reigning president convicted of committing crimes. The prisoner shouldn’t receive any special privileges other than Secret Service protection.
This historical prison, which should’ve never been needed, should “bear” the name “Trump’s Penitentiary.” It could become a self-supporting tourist attraction once it no longer has a prisoner.
Trump is no less guilty than former Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Davis received an indictment for treason and served two years in prison before dying from acute bronchitis in 1889.
“If Trump fits the crime, you’ve got to convict!” John Johnson II 06/05/24
YOU BE THE JUDGE!
