THE case against former US president Donald Trump is set to conclude soon. Once closing arguments by both sides have been presented the case will be handed to the 12-member Manhattan jury who will decide if Trump is guilty of the 34 charges of falsification of business records. These deceptions revolve around allegations of Trump ordering his attorney to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels in exchange for her silence about her sexual encounter with the former president. If Trump is found guilty, he will become the first former US president to become a convicted felon. He will also become the first American to run for president as a felon. Because this is a criminal case, it is possible (though unlikely) that Trump will go to jail.

As is well known, this is just one of the many cases that have been filed against the former president since the last election. Many would have imagined that another case, such as the one which involves direct election interference, and that has been filed by district attorney Fani Willis in Georgia, would have been the one that would have gone to trial and produced a verdict prior to the election.

Other charges involving Trump’s incitement to insurrection also have a greater bearing on his actual conduct and the events of Jan 6, 2021. Relative to those cases, this one is less serious since the falsification of business records while a criminal offence is hardly as serious as asking someone to alter election results by........

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