Will the Trump Verdict Hurt or Help Him?

Will undecided voters think the case against him smells of politics?

Given the jury pool in Manhattan, where in 2020 voters gave Joe Biden 85 percent of the vote, it’s hardly surprising that Donald Trump was found guilty of cooking the books to hide a sex liaison with a porn star. What is surprising is that the jury didn’t also find him guilty of taking part in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

Let’s review the facts of the case. Stormy Daniels said she had a sexual fling with Donald Trump in 2006. Trump says it never happened. I doubt that there’s one person on the planet, including Donald Trump, who believes it.

Shortly after the “Access Hollywood” tape went public and less than two weeks before the 2016 presidential election, Trump’s fixer, Michael Cohen, paid Ms. Daniels $130,000 to shut her up, fearing her story might sink Trump’s chances of beating Hillary Clinton. So far, no crime. There’s nothing illegal about paying a porn star to keep her mouth shut (for a change).

In 2017 Trump paid Cohen back. And according to Alvin Bragg, the progressive Manhattan district attorney, the crime was doctoring Trump’s business records to hide its real purpose — which was to keep the story from the American voting public. Trump said the money was “legal fees” to Cohen; Alvin Bragg says it was an illegally large contribution to Trump’s campaign, again, to keep the story under wraps.

So, did Donald Trump do what he was accused of doing, despite his denials? Was he guilty as charged? I think he was. And the jurors, based on the facts presented to them, understandably found him guilty. But they’re not the villains in this case. Alvin Bragg is.