Within an hour of America’s 45th president being found guilty of 34 crimes, a fellow lawyer invited me for a “celebration beer” with other revelers.
I politely declined.
To be clear, I have no illusions that Donald Trump was innocent. I also don’t expect voters to give him another term in the White House.
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But as Central Bucks West graduate (and prominent Trump critic) P!NK sang, “We still have a long way to go.”
I have tried hundreds of criminal cases and every verdict was important – for the parties involved, for the community and for the justice system itself. But as important as guilty verdicts may be, they are still just moments in time. Whether Thursday’s historic verdict was the first milestone in the defendant Trump’s reckoning, or instead the low point in an arc of redemption, remains to be seen.
Remember, Trump can (and will) appeal. Just last month, I comforted sexual assault survivors after a New York appeals court overturned Harvey Weinstein’s rape conviction, which until then had been a watershed victory for the #metoo movement. We’ve seen this before in Pennsylvania with Bill Cosby.
If you think it’s far-fetched that the U.S. Supreme Court would break precedent by following Speaker Mike Johnson’s call to “intervene,” just look at the Dobbs decision (or the pending questions about the justices’ impartiality Alito and Thomas). Of course, Trump won’t be convicted until at least July, giving him a chance to challenge the jury’s verdict before an appeal.
It is also too early to celebrate a victory over the abuse of presidential power. Although the jury’s verdict is historic, it concerns crimes Trump committed before he became president. Trump has yet to be tried for incitement of insurrection in Washington, D.C. or for attempting to overturn the election results in Georgia. Even his trial for mishandling confidential documents in Florida remains in limbo. While the New York verdict affirms the rule of law in the United States, we have not yet joined the ranks of countries that have successfully prosecuted corrupt heads of state for abuse of office.
Ultimately, it’s hard to see Trump’s loss as a victory for democracy, when he could still come to power. He is the presumptive nominee of the Republican Party, who no longer tries to curb his worst impulses but instead celebrates them. Having prosecuted my share of corrupt politicians, I know that the greatest power to hold them accountable often lies in the hands of voters, not prosecutors.
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None of this detracts from the remarkable achievement of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, not to mention the admirable service of the judge and jury under extraordinary circumstances. Donald Trump is now a criminal, and no presidential pardon can change that. This outcome should make it easier to hold Trump accountable elsewhere, harder for Trump’s enablers to help him evade justice, and less likely that Trump will swing the general election in his favor. It’s what President Biden might call a “big… deal.”
Biden didn’t return to Philadelphia last week to take a victory lap — he was bolstering support. He understands there is still work to be done. That is why his campaign responded succinctly to the verdict: “There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: through the ballot box.”
Sorry democracy lovers, he is absolutely right. There is still a long way to go. So for now, stay tuned, stay active and get ready to vote.
And keep the beer on ice.
Joe Khan, the former Bucks County attorney, is a partner at Curtin & Heefner in Doylestown. He served as a federal and provincial prosecutor for 16 years
This article originally appeared in Bucks County Courier Times: Trump is guilty. But this is no time to celebrate: op-ed by Joe Khan
