In a discussion this weekend on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the top House Democrat, defended the outcome of former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York City on felony allegations of falsifying business records in connection to hush money from before the 2016 presidential election. Jurors found Trump guilty on all counts after just a couple of days of deliberations.
Jeffries himself represents a portion of New York City, but not the specific area where Trump’s trial took place, which was in southern Manhattan as opposed to Jeffries’ southeastern Brooklyn.
“This verdict in the case of People v. Trump was a validation of the American judicial system,” Jeffries said, adding that “Donald Trump was entitled to a vigorous defense. He received it. Twelve jurors, 12 American citizens, after five weeks of a trial, evaluated the facts, the evidence, and law and came to a unanimous decision as it relates to convicting Donald Trump on 34 felony counts. […] We are not a system that is occupied by a monarch or a king or a dictator. We are a democracy, and in a democracy, no one is above the law.”
Jeffries’ response to the proceedings is directly at odds with the stance taken by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.), the current Speaker of the House. Johnson was already established as a Trump supporter ahead of the verdict, having even shown up to the proceedings at one point to offer in-person support. After the verdict was delivered, Johnson expressed existentially oriented worries.
“Today is a shameful day in American history. Democrats cheered as they convicted the leader of the opposing party on ridiculous charges, predicated on the testimony of a disbarred, convicted felon,” Johnson said. To be clear, “Democrats” weren’t responsible for the Trump conviction. That was instead the work of the jury, which was only put together after a conventionally rigorous review process of the candidates.
