WTH: 34 Felonies? Professor Jonathan Turley Explains the Trump Convictions

Last week, Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to
be convicted of a felony after a New York State court found him
guilty on 34 counts of concealing hush money payments to
“influence the 2016 election." Despite the precedent-breaking
nature of the case, the stench of politics was strong: Manhattan
District Attorney Alvin Bragg campaigned on the promise he would
prosecute Trump, used novel legal theories to conjure a felony
charge against the former president, and prosecuted a federal
crime in a state court. Nor was Bragg alone: Judge Merchan not
only allowed Bragg’s charges, but ruled with Bragg on every tough
decision, and handed out jury instructions that all but
guaranteed a conviction. Will Trump’s conviction get overturned
on appeal? What does this conviction mean for Americans’ trust in
our judicial system?


Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law
at George Washington University. At GWU, he is also the Director
of the Environmental Law Advocacy Center, and Executive Director
of the Project for Older Prisoners. Professor Turley has served
as counsel in some of the most notable cases in the last two
decades including the representation of whistleblowers, military
personnel, judges, and members of Congress, and has testified
before Congress over 100 times. His upcoming book is The
Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage (Simon and
Schuster, 2024).


Read the transcript here.


Order The Indispensable Right here.