David Remnick: Donald Trump Is Guilty in His New York Hush-Money Trial | the New Yorker

The conviction on these felony charges is only the most recent stain on the legal history of the former President. Last year, in a civil trial, another New York jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, and awarded the victim of that assault, the advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, five million dollars. A subsequent suit against Trump for defaming Carroll resulted in an additional award of more than eighty-three million dollars in damages. Trump awaits three more trials—in Washington, D.C., Florida, and Georgia—in which he faces myriad indictments for helping to foment the violent uprising at the U.S. Capitol; criminally mishandling classified documents; and taking part in a conspiracy to “unlawfully change the outcome” of the 2020 election. He has further distinguished himself in the annals of American law by being the only President to be impeached twice—the first time for trying to extort the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, the second for “incitement of insurrection.”

On top of his well documented moral and mental shortcomings, the former president is now a convicted felon, quickly taking a 34 felony lead over the next closest former president (and we haven’t event gotten to his trials related to trying to overturn the results of free and fair election).

His cult following in the spineless Republican Party are already coming to his defense, suggesting it’s actually good he’s a felon (“you know how else was a criminal? Jesus” — did I mention it’s a cult?) and what can you do about that in the short run? I do think it’s important to say his actions are obscene and history will not look kindly on him or the people who groveled at his feet.