On Thursday, history was made: An ex-president of the United States was found guilty, by a 12-person jury of his peers, on all 34 counts alleged against him, thus making him the first such office holder to become a convicted felon. The rule of law prevailed, and it is particularly satisfying to someone like me, as a member in continuous good standing of the Illinois bar and a former adjunct law professor.
But while a New York jury won this “battle,” the “war” rages on, given the remarks Donald Trump made immediately after the verdict was read and the jury discharged from its duties. He asserts — as he has constantly done for years for matters he refuses to accept and for which he is rightly criticized — that the case against him was rigged, that our country is in decline, that the trial judge was against him (though the judge performed admirably) and that he was not tried by his peers (despite his being allowed to testify, though he did not).
In other words, Trump and his minions are attempting to delegitimize our rule of law and the justice system, as we have seen occur in developing nations, even Russia. That will not happen here. It must be up to us Illinoisans — and all voters outside our state, on both sides of the aisle — to ensure that Trump’s warped, dictatorial and disingenuous thinking never prevails and certainly not as the next individual sitting in the Oval Office.
— Miles J. Zaremski, Highland Park
Trial judge was not impartial
I am no fan of Trump, but I am a great fan of the rule of law and its impartial application, which always of course starts with the judge.
In Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial, it was disgracefully clear that the judge was relentlessly accommodating to the prosecution and smothering to the defense.
An impartial judge? Hardly.
And all to what end? I think any fair-minded American knows the answer to that. I add that I wonder why they thought this was necessary.
— Neil Gaffney, Chicago
We are now a banana republic
On Thursday, former President Donald J. Trump was convicted, and the U.S. went from a republic to a banana republic in one fell swoop. Just like Venezuela, Cuba and El Salvador. Shame on you, America.
— Roberto L. Garcia, Chicago
Bravo to courageous jurors
May 30 will long be remembered as a glorious day for all Americans for it solidifies in our culture that the law applies to everyone, including a former president.
I take my hat off to the courageous jurors who did their job with integrity and without prejudice.
No wonder people around the world want to live here!
— John S. Strauss, Campton Hills
Our country needs Trump
The verdict in the Donald Trump trial proves one thing: This country needs Trump. He has withstood more than the average politician could ever endure, and clearly, it is because he is strong. Strong enough to stand up to other countries in defense of the country he loves.
I want a leader like Trump who never gives up and will do what is right for all Americans.
The verdict on Thursday divided our country once again, but my decision is easy. I stand by Trump.
— Sue Atkenson, Frankfort
Where is justice for Jan. 6?
The verdict in Donald Trump’s New York trial was decided in a court of law! What is a shame is the dishonesty of a political party willing to ignore that its candidate has been dishonest.
What America is even more concerned with is the Jan. 6 trial that has been stalled. Most concerning about that date is those who participated in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election results. This action not only involved Trump but also a number of his loyal Republican supporters.
Where is the justice?
— Raymond Hubbard, Sandwich, Illinois
Lifetime of playing with law
Does it strike anyone else as the height of irony that Donald Trump, a man born into wealth and privilege who has manipulated the legal system countless times for more than 40 years to avoid accountability, should now be complaining that that same system is rigged? Does he have any sense that, for example, the Central Park Five, about whose guilt he still rails despite the reversal of their convictions (and the fact that one of them is now a New York city councilman) might have suffered more from this system (and its “witch hunts”) than he could ever imagine?
Does he understand that as a rich white man, he will never be stopped for a traffic violation or be the victim of police harassment and, for many years, he was given the benefit of the doubt in a long list of lawsuits?
Finally — maybe — a lifetime of playing with the law to benefit himself is no longer a sustainable game.
Let’s hope whatever higher courts receive appeals on this case support our rule of law and uphold this verdict, offered up by 12 ordinary citizens.
— Virginia Blanford, Chicago
Republicans should move on
Republicans are complaining that Donald Trump’s New York trial was rigged and that the jury was against him from the start. I think we should look at who the jurors were judging.
The defendant was accused of 34 felony counts. He is also facing more serious felony charges based on allegations he mishandled classified government documents. He is also facing more serious felony counts for allegedly trying to interfere with the 2020 election results in Georgia. He is also facing more serious felony counts for allegedly trying to interfere with the election certification in Washington.
Trump has already been found liable for business fraud involving the Trump Organization. He has already been found liable in the rape and then defamation of another New Yorker. He was found liable in misusing money from his charitable foundation. He has been involved in extramarital affairs. He was accused of inflating his personal worth for loan purposes while deflating his personal wealth for tax purposes. He is known for serial lying. He has boasted about grabbing women by their genitals. He has boasted that he could shoot someone in downtown New York and not be arrested.
During the trial, multiple times, he insulted jurors, prosecutors and the judge and made veiled threats against them. He was ordered by the judge in that trial to stop insulting the jurors, which they saw him do many times.
I would ask his supporters to reread this history and ask themselves if this is the person who best personifies their values. Especially when he seems to have abandoned most of the basic ideals of the Ronald Reagan Republican Party.
Perhaps it is time to move on with someone else.
— Jerome C. Yanoff, Chicago
Prison time is appropriate
Apologists for the now-convicted former president, Donald Trump, are already making a case for probation when he is sentenced July 11.The reasoning, in part, is that he is a nonviolent first-time offender of an advanced age.
Here are two examples of why that doesn’t matter: former Trump administration adviser Peter Navarro, 74, and former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg, 76. Both men, who are currently in prison, were nonviolent first-time offenders.
The jury in Manhattan found Trump guilty of all 34 counts that were brought against him. The Tribune Editorial Board found this to be strange and, somehow, sad (“Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts made for a sad, strange day for America,” May 31). What is strange is that nearly half of American voters remain mesmerized by such a vile con artist, whose two-page playbook contains only anger, retribution and self-serving complaints.
The fact that a jury of his peers found him guilty, again on all 34 counts, is not sad. The legal process functioned as it was designed. The rule of law prevailed. The statement that no person is above the law has been confirmed.
For those reasons, Trump’s conviction should be celebrated.
At sentencing, Trump’s history and temperament preclude any tempering of Judge Juan Merchan’s decision. What goes for Weisselberg and Navarro works for me.
One day, one week, one month, one year — the length of time does not matter.
Lock. Him. Up!
— Len Levy, Glenview
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