Trump’s conviction in New York reaffirms the principle that no one—not even a former president—is above the law in the United States of America.
The evidence presented to the jury was damning, including numerous falsified documents with Trump’s signature on them. Falsification of business records is a serious crime, and Trump is finally being held accountable just as any other American would.
Trump has often been called a fraudster—and now he has been convicted of just that: fraud and trying to illegally pull one over on the American people.
Trump’s felony conviction is not merely about illegal hush money payments made 11 days before an election; it is about safeguarding the integrity of our elections. Trump has a clear pattern of lying to the American people and trying to undermine our elections in order to cling to power. This trial was the first of several—he still faces three additional indictments and 54 criminal charges, including federal charges for inciting a deadly insurrection to overturn the 2020 election.
Donald Trump has shown us who he is: a fraudster who will lie and break the law in order to cling to power. We must remember that when we go to the ballot box and cast our vote for the next president.
Anne Toller
Santa Maria
