ST. PAUL, Minn. — On Thursday, May 30, Former President Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 felonies in his New York fraud trial. On its second day of deliberations, the jury found that Trump illegally falsified business records in order to cover up $130,000 in payments to an adult film star, attempting to interfere in the 2016 Presidential Election. Trump now becomes the first former president to be criminally convicted of a felony in the history of the United States.
After the unprecedented conviction of the former United States President, Co-Chairs of the Minnesota Legislature’s Inclusive Democracy Caucus, Senator Liz Boldon (DFL-Rochester), Representative Emma Greenman (DFL-Minneapolis) and Representative Cedrick Frazier (DFL-New Hope), released the following statement:
“It’s no secret that Donald Trump has a history of meddling in our democracy. Whether it’s this fraud scheme during the 2016 race that he was just found guilty of, the January 6th attack on our Capitol following his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 presidential election, or his authoritarian rhetoric and promises to enact revenge on his political opponents, he has shown himself to be a threat to our democratic institutions.
That is why last week’s verdict, handed down by 12 everyday Americans serving jury duty, is so important; it made real the American principle that ‘no one is above the law,’ not even a former president or billionaire. Despite Trump’s continued efforts to evade accountability and undermine our democracy, a jury of Trump’s peers found him guilty of felony election conspiracy and cover up – deceiving voters in order to seize power. This voter deception verdict is one critical step toward accountability, which stands in contrast to what Trump and his extremist allies are doing to evade responsibility for his role in a conspiracy to overthrow the 2020 election and subvert the will of the voters.
What is concerning is that instead of respecting the legal proceedings, Minnesota Republicans have followed their national leaders down the dangerous path of vocally undermining the rule of law to protect one rich and powerful man. The hypocrisy is not lost on us. Last year, our Republican colleagues adamantly refused to support restoring voting rights to the 55,000 formerly convicted Minnesotans. They like to throw around the phrase ‘law and order,’ and yet here they are continuing to stand by someone found guilty on 34 felony counts for falsifying business records to interfere with an election.
Our country is built on laws that must apply equally to every American. Powerful bad actors like Donald Trump must be held accountable for crimes, just like any other American. In a democracy, that is something we all should be able to agree on.”
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