WASHINGTON – When former president and 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump claims the justice system is trying to put him behind bars, he’s not just protesting his ongoing hush money trial.
President Trump is also warning voters about the possibility of a guilty verdict.
Trump’s attacks on the trial at political rallies, social media and to reporters gathered at the New York courthouse were also aimed at persuading voters to ignore the bad verdict, aides and legal analysts said. .
“New York’s judicial system has been completely abused,” President Trump told reporters Friday. “The whole world is watching.”
President Trump is accused of improperly influencing the 2016 presidential election by paying hush money to women to keep them from disclosing their sexual relationships. He pleaded not guilty.
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President Trump is targeting moderate voters
President Trump has not said explicitly that he expects a conviction, and has occasionally expressed optimism to the public about the outcome of the trial. “A lot of good things are happening in this case,” the former said Thursday.
But he spends far more time alleging political bias by judges, prosecutors, and juries, and claims without evidence that his political opponents will do anything to put him in jail. claims.
Mr. Trump and his supporters also expect the guilty verdict to be overturned on appeal, which would not be necessary if there was an acquittal or a hung jury.
Legal experts said President Trump had little choice but to prepare for a guilty verdict, given the impact it would have on his campaign against President Joe Biden.
Trump’s claims that the trial was unfair have also targeted moderates and independent voters who have long been skeptical of his actions.
“His base will believe everything he says,” said Bradley P. Moss, a Washington, D.C., lawyer who specializes in government transparency issues. “The problem is independents.”
Trump sues New Jersey
President Trump’s latest effort to rally supporters against bad legal news will be announced Saturday at a campaign rally in Wildwood, New Jersey.
This will be Trump’s first campaign rally since May 1, when he held an airport event in Freeland, Michigan. There he spoke at length about his own legal concerns.
While discussing the ongoing New York trial, President Trump said, “The decision here is not out yet, but the decision here is probably only one thing, probably because…this whole thing is a rigged deal. ” he said. That’s a fraudulent transaction. ”
President Trump also equated the hush money trial with major civil lawsuits he lost, including one for bank loan fraud and two for defamation and sexual abuse against author E. Jean Carroll. He said there is.
In total, the civil court ordered Trump to pay more than $500 million in damages.
“Hopefully, we can easily win all of this on appeal,” Trump said at one point in Michigan.
“Organizing to convict President Trump”
President Trump has also sought to downplay the New York ruling by citing legal analysts who agree with his criticism of the case. Some say they believe Mr. Trump will be convicted because of the way New York State Supreme Court Justice Juan Marchan handled the case.
In a May 5 post on Truth Social, President Trump quoted former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy’s comments about how “Judge Marchand is orchestrating President Trump’s conviction.” .
President Trump has also attacked the gag order against him, saying it was an attempt to resolve the incident. Marchan found that Trump violated a 10-point gag order for attacking witnesses and court officials.
On Friday, President Trump read out a critique of the incident, saying people had to be careful because there was a gag order, saying, “If I say the wrong word, they’re going to come out here and put me somewhere.” He’ll take you to jail. That’s what this judge does, he wants to show how tough he is.”
Rebroadcast: President Trump previously warned of indictment
This kind of courtroom drama has happened before in politics, even before Trump was first indicted.
In late 2022 and early 2023, President Trump tried to smear his supporters in advance by alarming them about possible indictments and accusing the investigation of being politically motivated.
In June 2023, three months after the hush money indictment, President Trump told a Republican group in New Hampshire that “more may come” and described them as “election interference.”
Trump was ultimately indicted in four separate criminal cases.
In addition to the hush money case in New York, the former president is on trial in South Florida on charges of mishandling classified information, and in Washington, D.C. and Georgia, respectively, federal charges of trying to steal the 2020 election from Biden. He is currently on trial on two state charges. .
President Trump is seeking to postpone the latter three trials until after Election Day, November 5th. It is possible that it will succeed by leaving the New York case as the only court case during the election period.
Politically, the indictment may have helped Mr. Trump, at least among loyal Republican voters who have galvanized his bid for the 2024 presidential nomination.
Polls and primaries also reflect skepticism of Trump among moderate and independent voters, some of whom continued to support former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley even after she withdrew from the race. Some people were.
political influence
Meanwhile, President Trump is preparing for the actual verdict in the New York case and its political implications, which will be enormous.
Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University who is often cited by Trump, said the former president’s complaints about a “weaponized judicial system” are valid.
Even if Trump is convicted, Turley said there’s a good chance the case will be thrown out by an appellate court because “the whole case is becoming a dumpster fire.”
Turley also said that “no one would bet that a New York jury would acquit Mr. Trump,” but that it was possible the jurors would be deadlocked and unable to reach any verdict. Stated.
Trump could legally celebrate a hung jury as a victory, he said.
Moss said that whatever the merits of the case, Trump has been treated fairly by the judicial system. For example, Moss said other defendants would be jailed for violating gag orders, just like Trump. “If anything, it was treated with kid gloves,” he said.
Moss also said that while Trump’s base will stick with him no matter what, he doesn’t see how a conviction would help Trump.
“I don’t see anything good coming out of this for President Trump,” Moss said. “The question is how much damage it does.”
Contributor: Bert Jansen
