Category: Veterans – Patriotism

Why aren’t Americans willing to believe good news about crime?

Yahoo! News 360

Why aren’t Americans willing to believe good news about crime?

Mike Bebernes, Senior Editor – June 3, 2024

Photo illustration: Victoria Ellis for Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images (Photo illustration: Victoria Ellis for Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images)
What’s happening

The best data we have available shows that violent crime in the United States has declined significantly over the past couple of years. But ask the average American and they’ll confidently tell you that it’s actually going up.

According to the FBI’s preliminary analysis, crimes like murder, rape and assault fell in 2023 at what could prove to be a record pace, erasing a pandemic-era spike in violent crimes and bringing the national rates near the lowest levels ever recorded. The rate of property crimes like burglary and theft has also declined.

In survey after survey, though, Americans consistently say they believe crime is increasing. In a poll taken late last year, 77% of people said crime is getting worse, and two-thirds said crime is an extremely or very serious problem. The last time Americans were so pessimistic about crime was in the early 1990s, when the violent crime rate was more than double what it is today.

Perception vs. Data
In any given year, most Americans say crime is going up.
The best stats we have suggest it has plummeted in recent decades.

Violent crime rate……..Percentage who said crime is rising

Graph: https://flo.uri.sh/visualisation/18194817/embed?auto=1

This gap between perception and reality has real-world impacts. The campaign to enact police and criminal justice reform gained major momentum in the wake of the nationwide protest movement following George Floyd’s murder in 2020. But it has largely stalled — and in some cases been rolled back — as members of both parties have returned to promoting “tough on crime” policies.

Republicans have also worked to make crime a central issue in the upcoming election, often in connection with immigration based on the false claim that migrants are fueling a national crime wave. They also frequently mischaracterize crime rates in major Democratic-run cities. On Friday, former President Donald Trump, reacting to his own criminal convictions, claimed that crime is “rampant” in New York even though it ranks among the safest cities in the country. Polls suggest that, despite this misleading message, voters trust the GOP to deal with crime much more than Democrats.

Why there’s debate

Part of the disconnect appears to come down to human nature. We tend to put more weight on negative events, whether we experience them personally or simply hear about them, much more than times when everything goes well. Gallup has been polling on perceptions of crime for 25 years, and almost every year a majority of people say it’s going up, even though the actual crime rate has been cut by more than half over that same period.

Experts say there are also plenty of cultural forces that feed our predispositions on crime. Watching the news or using social media, which frequently focuses on out-of-context acts of individual violence, can make crime seem much more prominent than it really is. That’s especially true of conservative media outlets that have a vested interest in promoting the narrative that crime is on the rise.

Politics plays a major role as well. Republicans have been promoting the idea that crime is out of control, especially in blue cities like New York and Chicago, to attack their liberal rivals and draw favor for their “tough on crime” policies for decades. For the most part, though, Democrats have struggled to land on a cohesive narrative to counter these attacks that highlights the progress that has been made without seeming to be dismissive of voters’ concerns.

But some conservative analysts argue that the data is simply wrong and crime has not in fact fallen as much as the numbers would suggest. While the FBI’s figures are the closest thing we have to national crime rates stats, they are far from perfect. They don’t include data from every law enforcement agency in the country and only account for crimes that were in fact reported to police.

Critics say it’s possible that what has really declined is the share of crimes that get reported, either because people distrust the police more recently or because some departments have had their resources cut, not the true crime rate itself. As evidence for this claim, they point to data showing that the share of people who say they’ve been the victim of a crime — whether it was reported or not — did rise in 2022 after falling during the peak of the pandemic.

Perspectives

Good news doesn’t get any attention

“The old adage is that if it bleeds, it leads: Lurid stories attract press coverage. More positive stories, such as the absence of crimes, are less likely to receive attention.” — David A. Graham, The Atlantic

The GOP wants the public to think crime is rampant, and Democrats aren’t eager to counter that message

“Politically, for [Republicans], it would have been helpful if the statistics had been just the opposite. If homicides had gone up, it would have been a useful tool for bashing Democrats in order to take some of the heat off Trump. Democrats, on the other hand, could use the positive stats to bolster policies fostered by the current administration, but they’re being fairly quiet about them because they really want to keep the spotlight on the abortion issue and Trump’s trial.” — EJ Montini, Arizona Republic

Crime hasn’t actually gone down; it has just been reported less

“Americans aren’t mistaken. News reports fail to take into account that many victims aren’t reporting crimes to the police, especially since the pandemic.” — John R. Lott Jr., Wall Street Journal

Social media turns rare incidents into viral moments

“The spread of social media and video technology has made it infinitely easier to film and publicize a viral crime incident such as a large-scale shoplifting spree. There are millions of property crimes occurring each year, but these outlier incidents become the glue people rely on when guesstimating whether crime is up or down. My neighbors never post on NextDoor how many thousands of packages they successfully receive, only video of the one that randomly got swiped.” — Jeff Asher, crime data analyst, via Substack

Conservative media is committed to pushing a false vision of crime

“Even with crime dropping, Fox is still talking about crime as though it’s on the rise. This is often done by cherry-picking, finding a city or a statistic where crime has gone up and then focusing on it. Often, though, it’s simply presented as a given, which its audience — given what it sees on the news — will assume to be the case.” — Philip Bump, Washington Post

Bad data obscures what’s really happening with crime in the U.S.

“I wouldn’t say the FBI is cooking the books, but that the data they are putting out is half-baked. … So it’s not a conspiracy but a rush job, and it’s giving people a false picture. They infer something is true, and then because it’s politically expedient they don’t bother correcting it.” — Sean Kennedy, executive director of the Coalition for Law, Order and Security, to Real Clear Investigations

The chaos of the past few years has left people feeling unsettled and wary of the world around them

“The bottom line is that concern about crime is often a proxy for broader fears about social disorder. Public safety is about more than just the number of robberies and assaults that occur in a given year; it is also about whether people feel safe when they leave their homes. And those vibes have been way off during the past four years.” — Ethan Corey, The Appeal

Trump attorney spars with ABC host over bias

Politico

Trump attorney spars with ABC host over bias

David Cohen – June 2, 2024

Julia Nikhinson/AP

Will Scharf, an attorney for former President Donald Trump, insisted Sunday that the Biden administration was firmly behind Trump’s prosecution even as ABC’s George Stephanopoulos pushed back on that idea.

Speaking on “This Week,” Scharf responded to Stephanopoulos saying, “Of course, the attorney general of Manhattan has nothing to do with the Department of Justice,” by arguing in response: “I vehemently disagree that the district attorney in New York was not politically motivated here, and I vehemently disagree that President Biden and his political allies aren’t up to their necks in this prosecution.”

Stephanopoulos answered: “There’s no evidence here of that sir. … I’m not going to let you continue to say that — there’s zero evidence of that.”

After some further jousting over the issue, the ABC host tried to steer Scharf back to a question he had asked. “This has nothing to do with President Biden,” he said. “Do you want to answer the question about the sentencing process or not?”

“I completely disagree that this has nothing to do with President Biden,” Scharf said. “With respect to sentencing, as I said before, we’re going to vigorously challenge this case on appeal. I don’t think President Trump is going to end up being subject to any sentence whatsoever.”

In discussing the appeals process, Scharf made it clear that Trump’s appeal of his conviction of 34 felony charges would focus on two areas: Justice Juan Merchan’s decision not to recuse himself amid appearances of bias, and Merchan’s instructions to the jury.

Stephanpoulos pointed out that Scharf himself had praised the jury instructions before the deliberations took place.

“I think: Hope for the best, plan for the worst, George. But I think when you look at the totality of the circumstances in this case,” Scharf responded, “this is a prosecution that should have never been brought. This was a case tried in front of a judge that clearly should have recused. I think we have a lot of fair complaints with the way this trial was conducted and I think ultimately, President Trump will be vindicated on appeal.”

In discussing the effectiveness of the defense team’s legal strategies, Scharf also said it “would have been dangerous” for Trump to testify on his behalf, but that he would have made an effective witness if he had testified.

On Thursday, Scharf sharply criticized the verdict right after it came down.

“This is a tragic day in the history of the American Republic,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “President Trump’s conviction proves one thing and one thing only: that Joe Biden and his allies have weaponized our legal system to persecute their principal political opponent. We will speedily appeal, and we will win on appeal because this case is meritless, baseless, and should have never seen the inside of an American courtroom.”

Stephanopoulos cuts off Trump lawyer after he suggests Biden was behind Trump conviction

The Hill

Stephanopoulos cuts off Trump lawyer after he suggests Biden was behind Trump conviction

Sarah Fortinsky – June 2, 2024

ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos clashed with former President Trump’s attorney, Will Scharf, in a Sunday interview, over the former president’s unsubstantiated claims that President Biden played a role in bringing the hush money criminal case against Trump in New York.

In an interview on “This Week,” Scharf repeatedly echoed claims of the former president, arguing the hush money criminal trial — which ended in a guilty conviction against Trump on 34 felony counts — was “exhibit A” in terms of the “politicization of the legal system.”

“It’s absolutely unprecedented in American history. It’s not the way that our campaigns are supposed to be run. We contest elections at the ballot box, not in the courts in this country,” Scharf continued.

Stephanopoulos conceded Scharf’s point about winning elections at the ballot box but made clear there was no evidence to suggest any involvement of the federal Department of Justice with the New York state criminal trial that just concluded.

“That is true. But, of course, we’ve never had a former president or presidential candidate facing the kind of charges that the president faced because of his own activities. And, of course, the attorney general in Manhattan has nothing to do with the Department of Justice,” Stephanopoulos said.

As Stephanopoulos tried to pivot back to his question about the sentencing process, Scharf pressed on, refusing to concede his point about the prosecution being politically motivated. Stephanopoulos eventually interrupted.

“I vehemently disagree that the district attorney in New York was not politically motivated here,” Scharf said, “and I vehemently disagree that President Biden and his political allies aren’t up to their necks in this prosecution.”

Stephanopoulos jumped in, saying, “There’s no evidence here of that. Sir … I’m not going to let you continue to say that. There’s just zero evidence of that.”

“Do you want to answer the question about the sentencing process or not?” Stephanopoulos added, after some back-and-forth.

Scharf pointed to the prosecutor in the case, Matthew Colangelo, “standing over [District Attorney] Alvin Bragg’s shoulder when he announced this verdict” as evidence of political interference, noting he used to work at the Department of Justice, before the interview wrapped up.

Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Louisiana graduate finishes high school as valedictorian while being homeless

CNN

Louisiana graduate finishes high school as valedictorian while being homeless

Ashley R. Williams, CNN – June 1, 2024

A Louisiana high school senior experiencing homelessness recently graduated at the top of his class with the highest-earned GPA.

Elijah Hogan, 19, was named valedictorian of Walter L. Cohen High School in New Orleans and graduated May 24 with a 3.93 GPA, he told CNN.

Hogan, who became homeless a year and a half ago, says he was in disbelief when he learned of his academic achievement.

“I thought they were mistaking me for someone else, but when I looked at it and I was shown evidence that it was me, I was in awe, like, I was jaw dropped,” said Hogan, who was born in New Orleans and raised mostly in Houston.

Hogan was one of four Black male students who achieved valedictorian status at their New Orleans schools this spring, CNN affiliate WDSU reported.

Hogan, who previously lived with his grandmother since he was 11, says he became homeless after the lease on his grandmother’s house expired when the homeowner decided to sell the property.

He and his grandmother were given 30 days to vacate the house, according to Hogan.

“From there, I made the executive decision to live on my own to lighten my grandmother’s burden,” Hogan told CNN.

While his grandmother went to live in a care home for the elderly, Hogan was left without permanent housing.

His grandmother told him about the Covenant House, a homeless shelter in New Orleans serving youth and young adults ages 16-22. Hogan has been living at the shelter as part of its transitional housing program since he became homeless, he said.

Elijah Hogan, center, proudly holds up his high school diploma from Walter L. Cohen High School. - Courtesy Kewe Ukpolo
Elijah Hogan, center, proudly holds up his high school diploma from Walter L. Cohen High School. – Courtesy Kewe Ukpolo

The program allows young people to stay at the shelter up to 24 months rent-free, giving them an opportunity to focus on education or to save money while working, Covenant House New Orleans chief executive officer Rheneisha Robertson told CNN.

“It really allows them to get stable and identify more permanent, stable housing,” said Robertson, who added the homeless shelter had five other high school graduates this year.

Hogan, who addressed his graduating class with an uplifting valedictorian speech last week, said dealing with homelessness while completing his education was challenging but he found support from the homeless shelter’s employees and his high school’s staff.

“As time went on, I started to open up to people over at Covenant House as well as Cohen, people were there to support me and give me a guiding hand,” Hogan said. “Without them, I wouldn’t (have) become who I am today.”

He credits his Covenant House case manager, Jarkayla Cobb, with never giving up on him.

“She helped me get through it even when I was showing a lack of faith in myself,” Hogan said. “She’s been there no matter what I needed.”

Hogan, who lost his mother just before he turned 12, says her death encouraged him to push forward with his education for his grandmother’s sake.

“I know that’s what (my mother) would have wanted,” he said.

Hogan plans to attend Xavier University in New Orleans in the fall to study graphic design and has been granted a scholarship to cover his tuition fees, he says.

“Elijah’s accomplishments are worth celebrating. We know that they are a product of his character and the choices he made day after day to pursue his dreams,” Jerel Bryant, chief executive officer of Collegiate Academies, which operates Hogan’s former high school, said in a statement.

“His success is also a testament to how capable and excellent our Black youth are, in New Orleans and across this country,” Bryant said.

Hogan offered these words of encouragement for other young people:

“To any race, no matter what color or accent you have, you are your own guiding light,” Hogan said. “You are your own storybook that you write. Let yourself be the pen that you write on paper.”

Trump adviser on Hogan’s verdict remarks: You just ended your campaign

The Hill

Trump adviser on Hogan’s verdict remarks: You just ended your campaign

Filip Timotija – May 30, 2024

Trump adviser on Hogan’s verdict remarks: You just ended your campaign

Former President Trump’s adviser Chris LaCivita said that former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), who is running to become one of the state’s next senators, has just ended his campaign with remarks he shared in the lead-up to the decision in the former president’s hush money case.

Minutes before Trump, the Republican presumptive nominee, was found guilty on all 34 felony counts in the Manhattan hush-money case, Hogan shared a Thursday post on the social media platform X, saying that “regardless” of the outcome, Americans should respect the legal “process” and the verdict.

Larry Hogan, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland, arrives at the polling place at Davidsonville Elementary School to cast his ballot in the state primary election on May 14, 2024 in Davidsonville, Maryland. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Larry Hogan, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Maryland, arrives at the polling place at Davidsonville Elementary School to cast his ballot in the state primary election on May 14, 2024 in Davidsonville, Maryland. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“At this dangerously divided moment in our history, all leaders—regardless of party—must not pour fuel on the fire with more toxic partisanship,” Hogan said. “We must reaffirm what has made this nation great: the rule of law.”

In a little more than an hour, LaCivita, a veteran consultant, who has been overseeing day-to-day operations of the Republican National Committee (RNC) since March, fired back at the former governor, saying “You just ended your campaign.”

Hogan, a frequent Trump critic, is looking to become the first GOP politician to win a seat in Maryland, a blue-leaning state where he served as governor for two consecutive terms.

The moderate Republican, who launched his Senate bid in February, said in March that he would not vote for Trump or for President Biden in 2024.

Hogan is looking to build a diverse coalition of voters as he tries to win the race in November while also stressing that neither Republicans nor Democrats in the upper chamber can count on his vote, showcasing his commitment to being an independent voter.

Hogan won the Maryland GOP primary in May and will square off against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who beat Rep. David Trone (Md.) in the Democratic primary.

Time Magazine Literally Brings The Gavel Down On Donald Trump In Brutal New Cover

HuffPost

Time Magazine Literally Brings The Gavel Down On Donald Trump In Brutal New Cover

Lee Moran – May 31, 2024

Donald Trump: Guilty

Time magazine wasted little, well, time in showing off a future front page following former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial conviction on Thursday.

The publication posted its June 24 edition cover — featuring a new illustration by Cuban-American artist Edel Rodriguez — several weeks early on X, formerly Twitter.

Time’s new cover: Donald Trump found guilty on all counts. The image showed a gavel being brought down on a sound block, which itself is an abstract interpretation of the preemptive GOP presidential nominee’s face:

TIME's new cover: Donald Trump found guilty on all counts

Rodriguez has mockingly portrayed Trump for the outlet on multiple previous occasions, showing the convicted ex-POTUS as literally melting down, as a peach during his first impeachment for extorting Ukraine and as a wrecking ball dismantling government.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Batb4G5l9ll/embed/captioned?cr=1&v=12

In 2018, Rodriguez marked Trump’s first year in office with this illustration of the then-president’s hair as fire:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdzy6Uyh5R0/embed/captioned?cr=1&v=12

He also tackled Trump’s disastrous handling of the coronavirus pandemic with this picture of him and a misplaced face mask:

Image

For Germany’s Der Spiegel, meanwhile, Rodriguez has illustrated Trump as a Statue of Liberty-decapitating lunatic, an asteroid headed for Earth and as wearing a Klu Klux Klan hood.

Rodriguez, who fled Cuba for America as a child, told HuffPost in 2017 that his antipathy toward Trump stemmed from growing up under a brutal dictatorship on the Caribbean islad.

Guilty Trump’s press conference was a disaster. Republicans need to replace him – fast.

USA Today – Opinion

Guilty Trump’s press conference was a disaster. Republicans need to replace him – fast.

Rex Huppke – May 31, 2024

Felon Donald Trump arose glassy-eyed from his crypt of self-pity Friday morning to remind Americans he’s not just the first convicted criminal to run for president – he’s also a rambling, incoherent mess.

Speaking of his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cloak a hush-money payment to former adult-film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election, Trump babbled at reporters who had gathered inside Trump Tower in Manhattan.

“Crimes crimes, they’s falsifying business records,” he said, looking exhausted and more half-crazed than usual. “That sounds so bad, to me it sounds very bad, You know it’s only a misdemeanor (FACT CHECK: These were felony counts) but to me it sounds so bad, when they say falsifying business records, that’s a bad thing for me, I’ve never had that before. Im falsifying … you know what falsifying business records is, in the first degree, they say falsifying business records, sounds so good, right?”

Uhhh … sure?

Trump’s post-conviction press conference was a babbling mess

The man some actually believe is qualified to be president of the United States also claimed witnesses in his trial were “literally crucified,” said President Joe Biden wants to “stop you from having cars” and said the judge who will sentence him on July 11 is “really a devil.”

Trump is now a convicted felon. Democrats, don’t let voters forget it.

Trump could have testified in his own defense but didn’t, and the excuse he offered was a random assortment of words that went nowhere then veered into an entirely different subject: “I would have loved to have testified, to this day I would’ve liked to have testified, but you would have said something out of whack like it was beautiful sunny day and it was actually raining out, and I very much appreciate the big crowd of people outside, that’s incredible what’s happening, the level of support has been incredible.”

People react moments after news that former President Donald Trump was found guilty in his trial on hush-money payments in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. The former president was found guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.
People react moments after news that former President Donald Trump was found guilty in his trial on hush-money payments in Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City. The former president was found guilty on all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first of his criminal cases to go to trial.

Yes, incredible. Or as the Washington Post reported as Trump was speaking: “There are perhaps a few dozen supporters outside but no organized demonstration of any magnitude. It’s mostly gawkers and normal Fifth Avenue traffic in Manhattan.

Trump as ‘a steady hand’? Now THAT’S funny!

Look, I’m no political strategist, but I’m not sure putting the presidential candidate who was just convicted on 34 felony counts in front of cameras to ramble like the drunk at the end of the bar for more than 30 minutes was a fantastic idea. Trump’s disjointed gurgling delivered several “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”-length ads for Democrats to use in the months ahead.

Before Trump spoke, one of his Republican enablers, Rep. Wesley Hunt, let Fox News know what Americans would be hearing from the former president: “We’re going to hear a steady hand. We’re going to hear the voice of a father and a grandfather. We’re going to hear a voice of the future president of this country telling us that it’s going to be okay.”

HAH! Well that sure didn’t happen. We instead heard a dyspeptic chinchilla with anger issues hollering nonsensically.

Presidential polls are useless. Will Trump win? Will Biden? Nobody has a crystal ball.

Republicans really need to consider their options. Trump is a wreck.

Republicans are still adjusting to the new normal of having a convicted felon at the top of their ticket. They’re trying to rally around their twice-impeached, multi-indicted, found-liable-of-sexual-abuse, incapable-of-ever-shutting-up guy. But seeing Trump’s performance Friday and knowing his already erratic rhetoric has worsened with each visit from accountability, maybe it’s time Republican rethink the “presidential candidate” thing.

Off in a quiet corner somewhere sits Nikki Haley, a sane-by-comparison person who was a presidential candidate and would probably be happy to become one again. Perhaps a swap is in order?

Liberals keep saying Biden should be replaced, but what about Trump?

There are people on the left who look at poll numbers and scream, “WE MUST REPLACE JOE BIDEN ON THE PRESIDENTIAL TICKET BECAUSE WE NEED SOMEONE YOUNGER!”

Trump is a convicted felon who does nothing but angrily gripe about grievance after grievance in a way only the most loyal MAGA believers could possibly understand. He’s spiraling like a real-life Gollum from “Lord of the Rings,” obsessed with precious vengeance the way Gollum slimily hungered for the One Ring.

So where are the calls on the right to replace the 77-year-old felon who can’t talk straight with a newer, less legally encumbered version?

Face it, Republicans. The cheese has slid off Trump’s cracker, and it ain’t coming back. Friday was a preview of coming distractions for your party. Either get right or buckle up.

Fox News and right-wing media have already decided the Trump trial verdict

CNN

Fox News and right-wing media have already decided the Trump trial verdict

Analysis by Oliver Darcy, CNN – May 30, 2024

Charly Triballeau/Pool via AP

Editor’s Note: A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter. 

The jury might still be deliberating, but Donald Trump’s media allies have already delivered a verdict to their audiences

Throughout the duration of the Manhattan hush-money trial, Fox News and the rest of MAGA Media have set the stage to absolve Trump in the historic case. Day after day, week after week, popular personalities such as Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and Steve Bannon have lampooned the judicial system, portraying Trump as an innocent victim of political persecution.

Inside this alternate media universe, the actual facts of the case never penetrate the bubble that shields its audiences from detrimental developments for Trump. Instead, alternate dishonest storylines are disseminated as the gospel truth.

Not only is Trump entirely innocent of any and all wrongdoing in the MAGA Media world, but President Joe Biden is guilty of nefariously weaponizing government to wage “lawfare” on his political opponent. Audiences are told that Biden cannot win a fair fight with Trump, so he has resorted to illegal “election interference” by rigging the judicial system against Trump.

It goes without saying that these narratives are built on foundations of lies and innuendo that do not hold water. Biden does not control the judicial system. The hush-money case is taking place in New York state court with charges brought by the Manhattan district attorney. And it isn’t Trump’s left-wing enemies who have been making headlines testifying against the GOP candidate in the case, it’s his former allies, such as one-time fixer Michael Cohen and former National Enquirer boss David Pecker.

Nevertheless, millions consuming right-wing media have been fed these deceptive storylines, impacting how voters perceive current events and, more importantly, cast their ballots. In the Republican Party, voters absorb their information from outlets like Fox News, which has dishonestly run defense for Trump over the course of the trial.

“WHERE’S THE CRIME?” demanded a banner on Ingraham’s prime time show Wednesday along with a graphic showing images of Biden, Judge Juan Merchan, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg “THE REAL FRAUDS.”

In the following hour, Jesse Watters accused Merchan in an on-screen graphic of “LEADING THE JURY” and intimated how “very fishy” it was that a “stop Trump” judge was selected to preside over the case.

The progressive Media Matters said in a study published this week that Fox News has leveled at least 200 attacks on Merchan alone since the trial commenced — a staggering number that does not include the attacks on others associated with the case. And the study only accounted for Fox News, not the host of other entities that make up the right-wing media universe.

It can be tempting to ignore the torrent of attacks Trump’s media allies are launching in their unrelenting efforts to undermine the case. But those forces are shaping how a large swath of the country understands the high-stakes and unprecedented trial taking place in lower Manhattan. And they’re a reminder that if Trump were to return to power, he has a powerful propaganda apparatus at his disposal that will do everything in its power to sanitize his actions — whatever they may be.

Who is Juan Merchan, the judge in Trump’s criminal hush-money trial?

The Guardian

Who is Juan Merchan, the judge in Trump’s criminal hush-money trial?

Victoria Bekiempis in New York – May 29, 2024

<span>Juan Merchan in his chambers in New York on 14 March 2024. </span><span>Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP</span>
Juan Merchan in his chambers in New York on 14 March 2024. Photograph: Seth Wenig/AP

When a verdict comes down in Donald Trump’s criminal hush-money trial, all eyes will be on the Manhattan judge Juan Merchan, who has presided over the historic case.

After all, Trump was the first US president, former or present, to face a criminal trial. And before Trump faced a jury in this case, Merchan oversaw other proceedings directly tied to the presumptive GOP presidential candidate.

Those cases included the tax-fraud trial against the Trump Organization and proceedings against the former company CFO Allen Weisselberg. Merchan also will preside over the case against Steve Bannon over allegations that the far-right Trump strategist cheated thousands who donated to build sections of a US-Mexico border wall, scheduled for trial in September.

Related: A ‘catch-and-kill’ scheme and Trump’s pyjamas: key moments from the hush-money trial

Merchan, who was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and immigrated to the US at age six, grew up in the New York City borough of Queens. The first in his family to attend college, he started working at nine and held a variety of jobs, such as hotel night manager, during his studies, according to the New York Times.

Merchan’s past high-profile cases have included proceedings against the “soccer-mom madam” Anna Gristina. He also presides over Manhattan mental health court, where participating defendants agree to undergo closely tracked treatment with the goal of having their cases dismissed, avoiding future encounters with the justice system and finding their footing, the Associated Press said.

While outside observers might think that Merchan is in a no-win position compared with his other cases, legal veterans have praised his handling of the proceedings, noting how he has fostered normality.

“His job is to [oversee] cases, criminal cases, civil cases, whatever cases that come before him, and to treat each one in an impartial manner and I think he’s just trying to do that,” said Shira Scheindlin, a former Manhattan federal court judge who presided over the watershed stop-and-frisk case and is now with the law firm Boies Schiller Flexner.

“It’s high-profile. It’s a little more stressful. I’m sure to have that, to have a former president sitting there in front of you every day, and all the people that former president was bringing with him – he’s been bringing congressmen and senators and governors and whatever, with him,” Scheindlin said.

“So, it’s a little more stressful to see all those people in your courtroom, but it’s not an impossible position. He’s a very experienced judge, and he’s been doing what he knows how to do for 18 years, which is to run a tight ship.”

“Judge Merchan works very hard to not have his courtroom bogged down in distractions and optics and antics … Merchan presided over this trial in the fairest, most efficient and least dramatic way possible,” said Ron Kuby, a veteran defense attorney with a focus on civil rights.

“With his opinions, he has always been a careful and thoughtful jurist, and in the Trump case, every time he had the time to consider a legal issue, he considered it thoroughly and usually wrote an opinion about it, explaining his reasoning and the law supporting the outcome.”

The extraordinary circumstances that Merchan has had to navigate with Trump’s trial have been intensified due to the ex-president’s behavior. Trump repeatedly railed against trial witnesses, prompting Merchan to impose a gag order barring him from doing so.

Merchan expanded the gag order to include court staffers’ families and jurors, as well as prosecutors in the case, after Trump went on the attack against the judge’s daughter. This order did not prohibit Trump from making comments about Merchan, nor the district attorney, Alvin Bragg.

Trump couldn’t help himself, however, and continued to slam trial witnesses and comment on jurors. Merchan held Trump in contempt 10 times, fining him $10,000, and threatened him with jail if he continued to run afoul of his ruling.

Merchan also had to go on the defensive against claims by Trump that had the potential to spur unrest; the candidate’s unsubstantiated allegations about Joe Biden stealing the 2021 election, for example, had prompted the deadly January 6 Capitol attack.

When Trump simply falsely claimed that Merchan had banned him from testifying in his own defense, the judge went on record to clarify this wasn’t the case. “I want to stress, Mr Trump, that you have an absolute right to testify at trial,” Merchan said. “The order prohibiting extrajudicial statements does not prevent you from testifying in any way.”

Neama Rahmani, president of West Coast Trial Lawyers and a former federal prosecutor, noted Merchan’s handling of the gag order in praising the judge.

“I thought he’s done a good job because it’s a very difficult case with a very difficult defendant,” Rahmani said. “I don’t think there was any way he was going to jail Donald Trump for the gag order but he had to try to get him in line – and ultimately, he was able to get him somewhat controlled.”

Trump has repeatedly cast Merchan as biased against him, saying as he left court on 21 May, for example, that “the judge hates Donald Trump. Just take a look. Take a look at him. Take a look at where he comes from. He can’t stand Donald Trump. He’s doing everything in his power.”

Trump also said in an 11-minute courthouse hallway rant: “They’re already cheating on the election with this. And you don’t know what’s happening because the judge is so biased, so corrupt. He’s so corrupt and he’s so conflicted that you never know how these things … a corrupt judge will far surpass a great case for us.”

Jeffrey Lichtman, a longtime criminal defense attorney whose high-profile clientele has included El Chapo, expressed mixed feelings on Merchan’s handling of the case. He spoke positively of Merchan allowing the defense to extensively question Michael Cohen, Trump’s former fixer-turned-top prosecution witness. But he also saw shortcomings.

“I thought that for the most part he was fair, more fair than I’d expected,” Lichtman said of allowing Cohen’s lengthy cross-examination. “I think that as a defense lawyer, you want to have a judge let you have your way with the main cooperator in the case without being stopped.

“With regard to the entire case, I thought that he’s been thin-skinned,” Lichtman said. He pointed to Merchan’s admonition of Robert Costello, an attorney and defense witness in Trump’s orbit, whose behavior the judge described as “contemptuous” in a closed proceeding: “I thought that his handling of Costello was, frankly, an embarrassment to the court.”

Lichtman did not agree that Trump was getting short shrift because he was Trump.

“What people don’t realize: they think that Donald Trump is being treated unfairly because he’s Donald Trump,” Lichtman said. “Every defendant in criminal cases in most courtrooms in New York, federal and state, get the short end of the stick in terms of fairness, in terms of trial rulings.”

The more high-profile the case, Lichtman said, the more this happens, saying: “We’re in a constant uphill battle to get anything we consider to be a fair break from the judge.”

Merchan’s handling of the media has also prompted criticism among the press, who have cited access issues. For several days, Merchan barred photographers from photographing Trump, with court officials alleging, without evidence, that one had taken a photo outside a designated area.

And, after Merchan started to address Costello’s outbursts, he ordered court officers to “clear the courtroom”, kicking out the press and refusing to give a media attorney an opportunity to address him about the access issue.

The US constitution, as well as New York state and common law, stipulates that there is a presumption of access in court proceedings, meaning they are supposed to be open to the press and public, save for extremely rare circumstances.

Merchan offered circular reasoning for his decision to clear the courtroom: that he had to clear the courtroom knowing that he would have trouble clearing the courtroom.

“The fact that I had to clear the courtroom and that the court officers, including the captain, had great difficulty clearing the courtroom, and that there was argument back and forth between the press and including counsel for the press, goes to why I had to clear the courtroom in the first place,” he said.

Ex-President, Felon and Candidate: 5 Takeaways From Trump’s Conviction

The New York Times

Ex-President, Felon and Candidate: 5 Takeaways From Trump’s Conviction

Donald J. Trump will live the life of a New York convict until he is sentenced on July 11. He faces as long as four years in prison.

By Jesse McKinley and Kate Chistobek  – May 30, 2024

Donald Trump, looking downward.
Donald J. Trump’s conviction, born in the heat of one presidential race, could have an impact on another.Credit…Pool photo by Justin Lane

It was an end like no other for a trial like no other: a former American president found guilty of 34 felonies.

The conviction of Donald Trump, read aloud shortly after 5 p.m. by the jury foreman as the former president sat just feet away, ended months of legal maneuvering, weeks of testimony, days of deliberation and several nervous minutes after the jury entered the Manhattan courtroom.

The former president and the presumptive Republican nominee was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a scheme to cover up an extramarital tryst with a porn star, Stormy Daniels, in 2006. That encounter — which the former president denied — led to a $130,000 hush-money payment whose concealment gave rise to the 34 counts of falsifying business records that made Mr. Trump a felon.

Mr. Trump’s sentencing is scheduled for July 11; he has indicated he will appeal.

Here are five takeaways from the last day of Mr. Trump’s momentous trial.

Thursday, the second day of deliberations, seemed to be moving toward a quiet conclusion. Then, suddenly the word came from the judge, Juan M. Merchan: There was a verdict.

Less than an hour later, the headlines reading “guilty” began to be written.

The decision came just hours after the jury had asked to hear testimony involving the first witness — David Pecker, the former publisher of The National Enquirer — including his account of the now infamous 2015 meeting at Trump Tower where he agreed to publish positive stories and bury negative stories about Mr. Trump’s nascent candidacy.

They also wanted to hear testimony from Michael Cohen, whose account closely hewed to Mr. Pecker’s.

Those two witnesses may have spelled doom for Mr. Trump’s defense.

Mr. Trump, 77, was relatively subdued when the verdict was read, wearing a glum expression.

That sedate mask fell away. After he left the courtroom, he expressed disgust at the verdict in the hallway and suggested that voters would punish Democrats at the ballot box.

“The real verdict is going to be Nov. 5 by the people,” he said. “And they know what happened here.”

Allies chimed in. Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative group, suggested that Republican district attorneys should investigate Democrats. “How many Republican DAs or AG’s have stones?” he said in an online post, adding, “Indict the left, or lose America.”

Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, had risked his reputation, reviving a prosecution that was derided by some as a “zombie case.” It was alive, then dead, then alive again.

Now, Mr. Bragg has cemented his place in history as the first prosecutor to convict a former president. That victory came after he had been viciously attacked, again and again, by Mr. Trump, who portrayed the case as politically motivated while sometimes personally insulting him.

In a news conference late Thursday afternoon, Mr. Bragg was restrained in his remarks, thanking the jury and calling their service the “cornerstone of our judicial system.” He also reiterated that “this type of white-collar prosecution is core to what we do at the Manhattan district attorney’s office.”

“I did my job,” he said.

Before his sentencing July 11, Mr. Trump will have the same experience as anyone else convicted of a felony in the New York court system.

The New York City probation department will conduct an interview and generate a sentencing recommendation for Justice Merchan. During the interview, a convict can “try to make a good impression and explain why he or she deserves a lighter punishment,” according to the New York State Unified Court System.

Justice Merchan, whom Mr. Trump has spent the last several months excoriating, could sentence the former president to up to four years in prison. Another option is probation, which would require Mr. Trump to regularly report to an officer.

Any punishment could be delayed when Mr. Trump appeals the conviction. It’s unlikely any appeal will get resolved before Election Day, and he could remain free until the appeal is resolved.

It’s too early to know how the verdict will affect the presidential campaign. Nothing in the Constitution prevents a felon from serving as president.

Both Mr. Trump and President Biden immediately tried to capitalize on the guilty verdict in fund-raising emails, including one from Mr. Trump declaring “JUSTICE IS DEAD IN AMERICA!” and calling himself “a political prisoner.”

Mr. Biden also posted a fund-raising appeal shortly after the verdict: “There’s only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box.”

Whether the conviction will resonate with voters in November is impossible to predict. One thing is certain: Mr. Trump’s conviction will test the American people, and the nation’s fealty to the rule of law.