Letter to the editor: Trump charges serious, verdict right

There are several misstatements in the article “Trump verdicts make NYC Venezuela-on-the-Hudson” (June 8, TribLive). Author Hans A. Von Spakovsky tries to downplay the seriousness of the charges against Donald Trump by stating they were “paperwork errors” when in fact they were deliberate criminal actions. He states that “the statute of limitations had run out” when in fact it had been extended due to covid. Trump was charged with a crime he committed to cover up his previous crimes. This by definition is a felony and not a misdemeanor. The author deliberately distorted the facts concerning the jurisdiction, the previous prosecutor’s actions and the judge’s instructions to the jurors.

The article compared Trump’s case to Harvey Weinstein’s conviction. Weinstein was convicted but got off on a technicality. If Judge Juan Merchan’s instructions to the jurors were inappropriate, then Trump, like Weinstein, will have his guilty verdict overturned on appeal. This does not mean he was innocent.

It is sad that Spakovsky, a former Justice Department lawyer, is willing to erode the people’s faith in the American legal system, in the rule of law. He delegitimized the verdict strictly for political reasons, in order to salvage the reputation of a convicted criminal, because they share political ideologies, and Trump happens to be their best chance to retake the White House.

Joanne Garing

North Huntingdon