One Rotten Apple Can Spoil the Whole Bunch Of.
Da Nang, Vietnam, April 21st, 2024.
Salaroche

In these uncertain days, when it comes to American politics, all bets are off. Sociopolitical possibilities that were absolutely off the table just barely 20 years ago, are now quite within reach of becoming our country’s reality.

Just to disabuse those fellow Americans who still seem to live in the 20th century, allow me to emphasize that American-style neo-Fascist demagoguery is now an accepted part of American mainstream political discourse. Unfortunately, however, that is not a stand-alone mere simple fact. There are wide and deep ramifications and consequences to it.

For one, the leaders of the Jan. 6 insurrection have not yet capitulated. Quite to the contrary, they seem to have adopted a “do-or-die” attitude regarding their obsession with turning our 248-year-old Humanist, Democratic Experiment into an authoritarian, autocratic, Darwinist sociopolitical aberration of government. And their nefarious efforts include whatever kind of pseudo-legal political treachery they can imagine.

That is why it would be naïve not to envision what kind of mischief the Republicans might have in mind in order to derail or at least manipulate all of the criminal trials already lined up against Trump. This pertains particularly to the so-called “Hush-Money” case, which is in fact a 34-count indictment for falsifying business records with the criminal intention of hiding evidence that may have derailed Donald Trump’s bid for the Presidency of the United States in 2016.

And it is at this point that John Grisham’s novel “The Runaway Jury” comes to mind.

You might have read that book, which was first published in 1996, but most likely you saw the movie-adaptation of the novel, featuring Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, John Cusack, and Rachel Weiz, which was released in 2003. The heart of the novel’s plot is that some of the jurors in a case against a gun manufacturer, are being illegally manipulated by an outside consultant for the defense.

Does this sound like something that might actually happen during the Hush-Money case against Donald Trump? Of course it can happen. To think otherwise would be unforgivably naïve. Just keep in mind that, in dealing with Donald Trump, we are dealing with an individual with a near-total absence of morals, a near-zero love of country and an immeasurable, narcissistic love for himself.

And now picture that you are a lawyer of considerable standing like Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles, the current lawyers for Trump’s defense are, and you know that Donald Trump will go along with any of the most farfetched pseudo-legal plots and arguments you can imagine in order to try to save his skin, wouldn’t you propose to find ways to bribe, threaten, or coerce in any possible way any of the jurors in the Hush-Money case? Of course you would.

Just keep in mind that all it takes for the Hush-Money case to be declared a mistrial is one single juror stubbornly standing for Donald Trump, meaning that just one single MAGA rotten apple juror can spoil the whole jury bunch of.

This imaginary scenario should be of concern to the prosecution and to Judge Merchan, the judge presiding over the trial, for if it ever came true, the case would be declared a mistrial and would be seriously discredited and, although it wouldn’t be thrown out, it would be delayed, which is exactly what that perverted, totally-undeserving ex-President of the United States, Donald Trump, would like.

And the beat goes on.

Salaroche