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Anyone can be accused of a crime they are not guilty of. Justification depends on the right to a fair trial.
Sadly, the Manhattan trial of former President Donald Trump bears little resemblance to this cherished constitutional promise. Almost nothing that has taken place during this five-week trial can be called fair.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s absurd lawsuit made a mockery of our legal system. Judge Juan Mercian compounded the injustice by dismantling the principles of due process that all defendants deserve. His rulings in court have consistently favored prosecutors, barring Trump’s lawyers from presenting a meritorious defense that would be allowed in other courts.
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“Mr. Bragg and Mr. Marchan, acting in concert, have demonstrated little respect for the rule of law or the rights of the accused. This is not a fair courtroom. It is an Orwellian show trial with a predetermined outcome. There is no presumption of innocence, only an expectation of guilt.
The impact of this case, whatever it may be, extends far beyond the verdict. Incalculable damage has been done to a once respected institution, the judiciary. The corrupt conduct of prosecutors and the blatant bias of judges constitute moral failings that inevitably breed cynicism against democratic governments.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s absurd lawsuit made a mockery of our justice system. Judge Juan Machan destroyed the principles of due process that all defendants deserve and further exacerbated the injustice.
Marchan’s anti-Trump bias is particularly insidious. That bias was on full display when the defense called Robert Costello to the witness stand. Costello previously served as defense attorney for Michael Cohen, the district attorney’s key witness. Recall that the judge gave both Cohen and another prosecution witness, former porn star Stormy Daniels, unlimited freedom to disparage Trump in court. Unsubstantiated sordid details and outright speculation intended to bias the jury were greatly welcomed by Marchand.
But when Costello took oath and began accurately portraying his former client as a fraudster who lied to the jury about crucial issues in the case, the judge silenced Costello in less than a minute in New York. . While Cohen and Daniels were given free rein to talk endlessly and criticize Trump, Costello was silenced by the judge who just stuffed a sock in his mouth.
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In one ignominious moment, Machan loses his mind and threatens to imprison any witness who looks at him the wrong way. “Are you staring at me now?” the self-centered judge exclaimed. It was so melodramatic that even the average thug would blush with embarrassment.
Mr. Cohen was given unlimited authority by the judge to misinterpret federal election laws for which he had no knowledge or expertise. Mr. Cohen repeatedly told jurors that the payments to Mr. Daniels were against the law. But Marchan said the defense has called in a qualified expert, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, to explain the true meaning of election law and why Daniels’ non-disclosure agreement does not amount to illegal campaign financing. He did not allow the jury to be properly briefed.
Apparently, Marchan never bothered to read the New York Rules of Evidence (Rule 7.01). What experts can do do not have If the final issues in the case are beyond the jury’s knowledge and would be helpful to the jury, they are precluded from expressing an opinion on those issues. Here, campaign finance laws are so complex and convoluted that it’s almost to the point of being incomprehensible.
Without expert testimony, jurors are left to make ill-informed guesses. That’s exactly what Bragg and Marchan are hoping for.
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Throughout the trial, judges allowed prosecutors to cover up so-called “mysterious crimes” that somehow elevated an overdue misdemeanor to a felony. Now, we are in the final stages of the trial, with both sides adjourning their respective cases, and closing arguments scheduled to begin next Tuesday. But we are far from understanding the fundamental crimes Trump is accused of committing. That’s a farce.
Jurors have been told numerous lies and deceptions by District Attorney Alvin Bragg and approved by the presiding judge, Judge Juan Machan. Together they have trampled on the rights of defendants through lies and unchecked tyranny of power.
No competent and impartial judge would allow such an egregious violation of the Sixth Amendment. All defendants have the fundamental right to be informed of the nature and reasons for the charges against them. But Bragg never upheld that constitutional guarantee. To make matters worse, Machan allowed Bragg to get away with the crime. It is the same as Bragg allowing local courts to be misused to enforce federal laws over which he had no authority or jurisdiction.
All of this is consistent with the judge’s actions, which blatantly violated Trump’s free speech rights by forbidding Trump from commenting on Cohen while Cohen slandered the defendant on social media during the pendency of the case. ing. Trump was silenced, but Cohen was not. I want you to try to understand this. You can’t do it.
Machan had no intention of condoning objectivity or territorial impartiality. The concept of a level playing field was little more than a sick joke. Instead, Bragg and Marchan conspired to indoctrinate the jury with false information and false testimony to disrupt the trial. At various times, they attempted to brainwash the committee into believing that criminal activity was afoot, despite evidence to the contrary.
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In fact, none of the key elements of the alleged crimes in the indictment were met by the prosecutor. There is no credible evidence that Mr. Trump manipulated or knew about the accountant’s booking entries, which were not completely false. There is also no plausible evidence that he knowingly violated campaign laws, which he did not violate at all. Where is the fraud that the prosecution claimed in its opening statement? Like Bigfoot, it’s the fictional missing link in the case.
This was always a trial looking for fictitious crimes and disgraceful farces.
Reasonable suspicion is written all over this case. But the jury was confronted with a series of lies and deceptions by District Attorney Alvin Bragg and supported by Presiding Judge Juan Marchan. Together they have trampled on the rights of the accused through deceit and the tyranny of unchecked power.
This is exactly what the American politician, Senator J. William Fulbright, said: “When public figures indulge in abuse, deny others a fair trial, resort to innuendo, innuendo, and defamation, scandals and Any suspicion would infuriate our democratic society and embarrass our democracy.”
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Fulbright had no foresight. He knew through experience that unscrupulous men imbued with unlimited power could commit extraordinary acts of corruption. Only strength of character can withstand the temptation.
Absence of fraud may be rare, but sadly it is not found in Manhattan courtrooms.
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