Trump's conviction is unique because he publicly condemned the justice system and mocked all efforts to hold it accountable.

The surrounding factors revealed much more than a secret ploy intended to silence two women claiming to have had extramarital affairs with the former president. Two of Trump's accomplices – Michael Cohen and Hope Hicks – testified that Trump's 2016 campaign was panicked following the recent release of a video in which Trump bragged that his celebrity status allowed him to sexually touch women. women without their consent. Because it was deemed imperative to keep information about Trump's involvement with these two women out of voters' hands, Trump approved the alteration and filing of false business records with election officials. Thus, more than a secret money plot, the facts show that it was a ploy intended to deceive the electorate.

Trump's lawyers will say he has no prior convictions and is currently running for president. The prosecution will counter that neither the Constitution nor any legislation protects convicted candidates from criminal sanctions. Voluntary application is not a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Unfortunately for Trump, his many public comments and behavior demonstrate a deep contempt for the rule of law and the legal system. Judges want to know if a convicted person accepts responsibility and expresses remorse. Naturally, the person who appeals is not obliged to do so; Yet Trump, instead of simply claiming that his convictions were appealable errors, has repeatedly asserted in speeches and interviews that President Biden initiated the prosecutions, that the justice system was corrupt, that Judge Merchan was “conflicted” and that the trial was “rigged.” » No evidence supports any of this.