June 1 – Alabama residents and policymakers offered mixed, partisan reactions to the jury’s decision on Thursday, May 30, to find former President Donald Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying corporate records.
Trump maintained his innocence in a statement released shortly after the jury returned the verdict Thursday.
“This was a shame. This was a rigged trial by a conflicted judge who was corrupt. It is a rigged process,” the statement said. “I’m a very innocent man, and it’s okay, I’m fighting for our country. I’m fighting for our Constitution. Our entire country is being manipulated right now.”
John Wahl, chairman of the Alabama Republican Party, said the former president has the full support of the ALGOP in the aftermath of the trial, which he said “threatens the foundations of our democratic system.”
“The left-wing inspired lawsuit against him is clearly politically motivated. The facts surrounding this entire situation date back to 2016. These Democrat elected officials had eight years to file charges, but only chose to act when Donald Trump began leading Joe Biden in the polls . The legal system should never be used as a political weapon, and we are deeply disappointed by what we saw in this case,” Wahl said in a statement Thursday.
Both Alabama Senators Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt echoed statements shared by Trump after the verdict.
“Today is a sad and shameful day. The Democrats just set the dangerous, destructive precedent of the party in power by weaponizing prosecutorial powers against their political opponent. This is a hallmark of a banana republic, not a constitutional republic,” Britt wrote on X.
Tubberville described the trial as a “political witch hunt” and “a complete hoax” that only served to disrupt the upcoming presidential election.
“Liberal activist Alvin Bragg and Biden donor Judge Merchan had a common goal: put President Trump behind bars. Whether you look at the skewed jury, the gag order issued solely to silence President Trump, the prosecutor’s inability to identify the alleged underlying crimes, or the lack of a unanimous verdict necessary for a conviction, this trial was a complete joke and a large-scale misuse of taxpayers’ money,” Tubberville said in a statement.
New York law says that while “unlawful means” may not be used to further the election of a candidate, prosecutors are not required to describe what specific underlying crime occurred. Before jury deliberations began on Wednesday, May 29, Merchan instructed jurors that they must be “unanimous” on every point to reach a guilty verdict. He said they must agree that Trump falsified business records with the intent to commit or conceal a new crime, but they did not need to agree on what specific “illegal means” he may have used.
Regardless of the decision, Cullman County GOP Chairman Alex Chaney said the more inclusive voice of the American people would be reflected on Election Day.
“The people of the United States will decide our next president this November, not 12 jurors in one of the most liberal cities in the country,” Chaney said.
On Friday, the Democratic Party of Alabama referred The Times to the Biden campaign’s statement, which said the verdict shows how “no one is above the law” but also encouraged Democratic supporters to remain vigilant during the remaining months before November .
“Donald Trump has always wrongly believed that he would never face consequences if he broke the law for his own personal gain. But today’s verdict does not change the fact that the American people are faced with a simple reality. There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out. from the Oval Office: at the ballot box,” the statement said. “Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”
Several local Democratic supporters said they felt the verdict would do little to deter support from Trump’s most loyal supporters, but struggled to understand the reality.
“Witnessing the Promise Keepers-like evangelicals of the Clinton era, who insisted on voting for leaders with integrity and overwhelmingly voted for Trump, was and is the most politically disturbing thing I have ever seen. I can’t imagine the guilty verdicts will change that support.” Cullman County construction worker Josh Freeman said.
Cullman County Democratic Party Chairman Lance Conn described the convictions as a “drop in the bucket” for many voters.
“For those on both sides of the aisle, I don’t expect much to change,” Conn said. “It is difficult to watch my Republican friends, especially those who taught my Sunday School classes growing up, ignore the constant warning signs regarding the character of their presumptive presidential nominee. These are people who hold each other accountable and stand for fair behavior under all circumstances. I cannot reconcile the conservative ethos they espouse with the convicted criminal they idolize. If he is re-elected, I wonder if some criminal or treasonous action could put them to rest.”
