Reasonable doubt for Trump is elusive, even in the post-truth era

The background noise in my house is the television show, "Law & Order." My wife and I both read more than we watch TV, so reruns that we aren't paying much attention to mask the noise from the city streets but don't distract us. We both have already seen every episode. So, when it's on, we race to declare, "he's the one who did it," or "they needed a search warrant for that." And after about the first fifteen minutes, it's only noise. Donald Trump's criminal trial in New York, that ended with his conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records last week, was just as predictable as any other rerun. No prosecutor, of any political party, in any part of the country, would bring a case to trial that he or she didn't believe could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Add the complicating factors of this defendant's unlimited financial resources and media reach, and the original reluctance can be multiplied by a thousand. This is primarily why conviction rates are so high. Cases aren't brought when the prosecution lacks a provable case. Either the government has the goods on the accused, or it doesn't. It's too much work, and too publicly embarrassing, to invest all of the time and resources necessary to obtain a conviction when the evidence is weak. Remember, prosecutors are elected in 47 states, and they never run on a platform of losing.  Since Thursday's conviction, Trump world has gone bonkers in its attempt to try and make the world believe that their man has been mistreated. Don't confuse their mania with an attempt to show that he is innocent, that is almost never even part of any MAGA rant. In this case, Trump's defense team didn't even present a theory of his innocence. The defense was entirely about how Trump's enemies were liars, and how the process was unfair. Was it unfair? Hell yes, it was. For example, it is unfair for a defendant to be found in contempt ten times during a trial and never revisit the jail. But the strategy of whining and victimhood is now the go-to mantra of every scrape the former president faces. It's never "innocence."   Connect with Michael Leppert Visit michaelleppert.com to read the full post and links to any resources or articles mentioned. Twitter @michaelleppert  Facebook at Michael Leppert