Trump’s Trial Today is About Voter Deception
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As the work of choosing a jury for the first criminal trial for a former U.S. President begins in NYC today, it is critical to highlight the gravity of the crimes Donald Trump is accused of, and the context in which they have occurred.
Trump faces 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, related to “hush money” payments he allegedly made to cover up an affair with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. While much of the media coverage has portrayed this as a salacious scandal, less attention has been given to implications of this crime for American democracy, namely that these charges are ultimately about Trump’s effort to deceive voters in order to win the 2016 election.
Lisa Gilbert, Executive Vice President of Public Citizen, issued the following statement: “This case is about the allegation that Trump criminally hid information from voters to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. You can draw a clear pattern from this election interference behavior to his more emboldened efforts to subvert the 2020 election, which led to the January 6th insurrection, a lasting stain on American democracy. Accountability for criminal deception of voters is absolutely necessary to ensure future candidates and public officials know they can’t get away with this sort of conduct.
“Despite what Donald Trump and his allies may claim, no one is above the law—including a former president charged with serious crimes, and today marks the start of the legal system’s chance to prove this point.”