This afternoon’s historic guilty verdict in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial came as a result of legal proceedings that allowed the evidence to be presented and cross-examined, the defense to make their case, and a carefully vetted citizen jury to deliberate. This judicial process also provides access to a clear system of appeals, available to defendants with legitimate concerns about process or results. These proceedings reflect our country’s long-held norms of a judicial system that is fair, balanced, and impartial.
Citizens should scrutinize any attempts to undermine the decision beyond those time-tested mechanisms, especially by current and former elected officials in pursuit of apparent party or personal gain. Such actions risk sowing distrust in democracy and delegitimizing a process that undergirds the rule of law and secures our civic peace. As a nonpartisan organization centered on ethical government and committed to peacemaking, we affirm our confidence in an American criminal justice system that places the responsibility for such convictions in the hands of a jury of peers who, in this particular case, have made their decision with unanimity and courage under intense public scrutiny.
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