Verdict reaction from George Conway.
Partial transcript:
In terms of this verdict, I was surprised by the fact that so many people were surprised.
I was in that courtroom for a number of the days. I read the transcript. I followed along very closely. And this case was never, ever close. It wasn't. There was really no defense.
The only defense was that Michael Cohen lied on some other occasions. But on the things that he testified to about Donald Trump, and Stormy Daniels, and Karen McDougal, and the catch-and-kill scheme with "The National Enquirer," all that was corroborated many, many times over by documents.
So I'm just surprised at how many people were kind of unwilling to accept this case.
That said, I think that this case really does capture Donald Trump, in a way. It captured -- it's where he started. He's been a criminal his entire life, and he cannot help himself. I mean, you go out there, and you see his son and him, all claiming that they are the victims of some mastermind scheme by President Biden. I mean, it's just silly and ridiculous. And Marco Rubio should be ashamed.
I mean,
if you don't want to be found guilty of falsifying business records as a felony, don't sleep with the p o r n star; don't lie about it; don't pay her off; don't cover up the payoff. Don't cover up the payoff in the middle of a presidential campaign where you're making an illegal contribution. And don't gross the guy up for taxes who you used as a front man.
If you don't want to be held liable for rape, like Donald Trump has, don't grab the woman's genitalia. If you don't want to be held liable for defaming the woman that you raped, don't keep lying about what you did and calling her a nut job.
If you don't want to be indicted for overthrowing the Constitution, don't start a self-coup. If you don't want to be indicted for stealing classified documents and obstructing justice, don't take the classified documents. When the government asked for it back, give them back. If the FBI serves you with a search warrant, don't hide the documents. And don't lie about it, and don't have your lawyers lie about it.
This isn't that hard. Donald Trump is not the victim here. Donald Trump does all of these things to hit himself.
And I agree with David. I mean, once upon a time, the Republican Party was the party, not just of anti-hippies, but of personal responsibility and of law and order.
Where is that party? No one in the Republican Party is willing to hold Donald Trump to account for his crimes. Crimes that aren't really even in dispute.
And no one is willing to call him out. Instead, he's going to get the nomination. That's just insane, and it just shows the degree of moral rot we have on the conservative side of politics today.
[bbm]