The charges centered on a $130,000 payment to adult film performer Stormy Daniels

A New York appeals court will be asked on Thursday to throw out Donald Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The case made history in May 2024, when the verdict turned Trump into the first former, and now current, US president with a criminal conviction. The historic ruling did not stop him from returning to the White House, and it brought no punishment.

The charges centered on a $130,000 payment to adult film performer Stormy Daniels, made to obscure the money's true purpose.

Trump denies any wrongdoing, and has turned to state and federal courts in hopes of unwinding the verdict. He is not expected to attend Thursday's court session. The appeal turns on complex legal disputes, but the political overtones are hard to miss.

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[–] 178 points 1 day ago (18 children)

34 felony counts

The historic ruling did not stop him from returning to the White House, and it brought no punishment.

The absolute joke that is "rule of law."

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  • [–] 63 points 1 day ago (4 children)

    Rape, pedophilia, genital obsession, treason, insurrection, pathological lying, cowardice....

    "Right On"
    -- maga

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  • [–] 28 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    Don't forget a stated interest in committing incest with his daughter

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  • [–] 55 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    The lack of punishment is ridiculous.

    The ability to be elected to office even with felony convictions is a safeguard. If you were barred from office if you had a felony, then this government would just keep charging everyone it hated with felonies, hoping either for a conviction, the person to go bankrupt and give up, or create enough smoke that the potential constituents don't vote for them.

    I mean, you know Ken Paxton would've had Talarico and O'Rourke up on charges, and enough Texans are Fox addicts that they'd have either eventually gotten a conviction for something or at least discouraged people from voting from them. And you know Trump would be relentlessly going after AOC, Omar, Sanders, Mamdani, etc.

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  • [–] 24 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (7 children)

    Founding Fathers- "do we add some clarity? Naahh that would never happen"

    One semiquincentennial later "Well now see here there ain't nothin on these books sayin we can't elect a rapist felon to the highest office"

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  • [–] 29 points 1 day ago

    I get the whole being elected thing being ok, it's the no punishment thing that really pisses me off. Any one of us would have the book thrown at us...

    There is something to be said about a tyrannical government charging people with felonies to prevent them from being eligible to be president, so as long as the people still vote for them I guess it's ok. But as far as the law goes, wtf is the point of a felony if there are no repercussions? I go to jail or face fines but Donnie two diapers doesn't because he's rich, famous, and has a cult?

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  • [–] 7 points 1 day ago* (2 children)

    The rapist part was civil, not criminal. Granted he's definitely criminally a rapist as well, it just hasn't been proven in court.

    So its more a felon and a rapist, but not a felon rapist which implies felony rape conviction.

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  • [–] 39 points 1 day ago (5 children)

    Your Teflon is wearing off, rapey mc raperson. All in due time

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  • [–] 10 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    I hope Jack Smith is ready to go.

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  • [–] 31 points 1 day ago (12 children)

    Bruh just commit sepuku on live tv already. You know you want to Donnie.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 day ago (3 children)

    Bud Dwyer beat him to it, his ego won’t let him go second

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  • [–] 4 points 1 day ago* (4 children)

    Only if he eats a frisbee folded in half.

    That would be REAL ULTIMATE POWER!

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  • [–] 28 points 1 day ago (9 children)

    Bible belt evangelicals and their "family values!" 🤢

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  • [–] 9 points 1 day ago (4 children)

    "Heee wuz sent har by gawwwwd to save this cuntry"

    ...is literally the kind of crazy shit they say about this pampered failson Manhattanite social climber that hung out with Epstein.

    Meanwhile, someone like Obama is denigrated as a "community organizer".

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  • [–] 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    I like to show those people that article pointing to all the parallels between trump and the biblical antichrist.

    To be fair though, Obama was a great community organizer. I don't think that's a pejorative. Have the repugnicans started saying it?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Yes, he was, but the right acted (and still act) like that was a pejorative. You and I don't think that's a pejorative, but the cons were trying to paint it like it was some kind of shameful or scary thing to be engaged in.

    I'd ask these people if they were scared of the Rotary Club, or the local Elks, or people organizing church basement bingo, etc...no answer.

    But these are the same people that use "activist" as if it's a pejorative, even if right wing activism is not only very much a thing, but very well-funded. I guess right-wing activism doesn't have to really bother with getting people out on the streets...

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  • [–] 2 points 15 hours ago

    I see. So that's why people rolled their eyes at me when I said Obama was a great community organizer...

    That was in college, but it kinda caught me off guard. I was just trying to point to a potential role model to inspire people to follow his example. Particularly Chicago-era Obama, which maybe younger folks don't really remember...

    At the time I really felt like young adults needed to be more involved in politics, and in the civil sector. I still feel that way, and reality finally seems to be catching up. Not that I had anything to do with that, but it's nice to see. I feel vindicated, in a way...

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  • My aunt was a hardcore Christian who thought trump was literally the antichrist. But she loved him for that and voted for him every time. The antichrist is supposed to bring about the end times and she wanted that to happen. These people shouldn't be allowed out of their houses, let alone allowed to vote.

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  • [–] 38 points 1 day ago (2 children)

    Donnie's priorities: enriching himself and his shitty family to the tune of billions. Ballrooms, reflecting pools, arches and stapling tacky gold shit to the walls of the WH.

    Also: making sure to cover up his own crimes.

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  • [–] 11 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    I was starting to think ole Donny T was going to get away with it via the grave while everyone below him that propped up his nonsense got the brunt of it. Maybe I should have been a little more optimistic for once.

    He has been especially down trodden and looking a little scared the last few days.

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  • [–] 19 points 1 day ago (13 children)

    I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves the White House and gets a full massive pardon from Vance. For any and all crimes he might have done.

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  • [–] 17 points 1 day ago (7 children)

    And immediately fucks off to Russia to be with Daddy.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 day ago (3 children)

    Qatar. It's where he's keeping the stolen Venezuelan oil money in a private account and received a jet as an official government gift.

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  • [–] 1 point 15 hours ago (4 children)

    January 22nd, Trump will leave office, either of his own free will or article 25.

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  • [–] 1 point 15 hours ago (2 children)

    I hope it isn’t democrats impeaching him, though. Let him rot for 2 years, let the GOP force him out, or let him leave on his own. Either way, democrats should not be the reason.

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  • [–] 1 point 13 hours ago (1 child)

    Republicans will never allow impeachment to go through. The only way he's removed is on their terms

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  • [–] 1 point 12 hours ago*

    Sure, but I could see a scenario where democrats impeach him and he resigns as a result. And the GOP blames Dems for it and in turn, energizes them for 2028. Also, a blanket pardon by Vance wouldn’t be as big of a deal.

    Ideally, Trump needs to leave on his own, or as a result of the GOP.

    Best thing for Dems is Trump still in office in 2028 or GOP in disarray

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  • The problem is a system that rewrites past actions as "that never happened, and if it did, it doesn't mean anything". The narcissist's prayer is written into how the law works.

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  • [–] 7 points 1 day ago

    Everybody point and laugh

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  • [–] 13 points 19 hours ago

    I think we should keep pressure up, we as a society, should be pressuring the new democrats to not let their voters down. And also, keep the anti-AI feeling going. I want the AI-related stock market to fucking crash and bring us some sense of normalcy. We all have a game to play and I think these midterms showed that we can make a difference, though constant pressure is needed.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 day ago

    He can't argue this was an official act of the president because he wasn't fucking president then. He seems to be trying.

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  • Yeah, but I don't think he can produce a time machine by EO.

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  • [–] 14 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (4 children)

    In my opinion these charges are an international embarrassment (not as embarrassing as Trump, but still)

    Felonies for paying a prostitute and not writing "Prostitute" in the memo section of the check? Oh no.

    Release the Epstein files

    ETA if a politician wants to use their election funds to pay prostitutes, the last thing that we should do is put a stop to it. GO AHEAD waste all of your donor money. Good.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 day ago (1 child)

    Johnson runs. trump endeavors even more strenuously to avoid paying the piper. What a gang of Recreants, Reprobants and Deviants. They should change the color to represent their party from red to yellow.

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