Broadway is having a banner year, but nothing can compete with the latest Off-Broadway production of “The People of New York State v. Donald J. Trump.” Every day there is a performance of this show, the streets of lower Manhattan are in gridlock. Thousands of New Yorkers have been summoned to view the previews and answer the simple question, “Do you have an opinion?” Inevitably, more than 99% admit that they have several opinions in connection with the matter being acted out, and they are forced to leave before the final act.
Most believe the Earth is not flat, and the former President is guilty of something. Almost all of the potential critics [i.e., jurors] have admitted that they have watched television, listened to the radio, read a newspaper, surfed the Internet, used the word ‘trump’ as a noun, or otherwise participated in activities that would make it impossible for them to be impartial. Those claiming to be unburdened by opinions or bias will sit in judgment of the former President as his arcane business practices and illicit sexual activities are portrayed as criminal by the prosecution and as truly American by the defense. The accused will get a vigorous, but extremely expensive, defense. The prosecutor will get more notoriety than Rudy Giuliani. The curious public will get an answer to the fundamental question, “What is Stormy Daniels’s real name?” The Jury will get death threats.
After tens of millions of dollars have been spent on security for the former President, hourly charges by defense attorneys and paralegals, limousines rentals and repairs, overtime for bomb-sniffing dogs, and disguised subsidies to spin doctors on several selected propaganda [I dare not call them ‘news’] outlets, the outcome is a forgone conclusion. As they say in Brooklyn, “He’s gonna beat the rap.” It may be because a technical misstep causes a mistrial or one of the twelve jurors insists the defendant is an innocent politician [note the oxymoron] falsely accused or an Appellate court finds an error in the proceedings or the defendant’s carefully selected Supreme Court concocts an argument to void the jury verdict, but whatever the reason, the only punishment the former President will experience is that meted out by another porn star spanking him with a magazine featuring him on its cover.
You may think me cynical, but bear in mind that this man violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution [Section 3], and his violation of this Amendment was witnessed by millions of people. He has faced no consequences for inciting a riot, engaging in an insurrection, and obstructing Congressional proceedings. That amendment says he cannot “hold any office, civil or military under the United States or under any State…” This is very straightforward. If he can get away with violating a Constitutional Amendment, it is obvious that he will not be held responsible for “funneling” [the term used by Rudy Giuliani] money through his business via his convicted attorney/fixer, Michael Cohen, to Stormy Daniels to avoid the negative publicity that might occur if she provided details of the former President’s dalliance.
In retrospect, we know this was an unfortunate waste of $130,000. The payment ended up being disclosed. Ms. Daniels provided salacious (and probably accurate) details of her encounter with the alleged billionaire. The former President went into blame-shifting mode; Michael Cohen went to jail, and America yawned. His supporters applauded his unexpected burst of erectile function, and his detractors scolded him for infidelity in an era when most Americans cannot spell ‘infidelity’ and believe it has something to do with religious convictions.
Over the next few months, we shall endure gridlock in lower Manhattan on a scale rarely experienced since the blackout in 2003. The identity of jurors will inevitably be leaked along with their home phone numbers and social security numbers. Their home and office phones and answering machines will be overflowing with death threats and obscenities. Petty crime in New York City will increase as law enforcement resources are stretched beyond their capacity and residents of the city become increasingly irritable.
That does not mean this trial will be a total waste of time and money. After all, it is the journey, not the destination, that is most enlightening in many endeavors. The former President will use the trial as a backdrop for his Presidential campaign. He has already insisted that he has been treated more unfairly than Nelson Mandela and Jesus Christ. He will continue to make a mockery of the judge’s gag order and face no jail time for his contempt of court. Whether a verdict is reached or not, he will receive tens of millions of dollars’ worth of free television exposure and daily headlines in the print and Internet press. When the trial is over, regardless of the verdict or lack thereof, the former President should thank the New York District Attorney for helping in his effort to recapture the White House.
Dr. Lechtenberg is an Easton resident who graduated from Tufts University and Tufts Medical School in Massachusetts and subsequently trained at The Mount Sinai Hospital and Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan. He worked as a neurologist at several New York Hospitals, including Kings County and The Long Island College Hospital, while maintaining a private practice, teaching at SUNY Downstate Medical School, and publishing 15 books on a variety of medical topics. He worked in drug development in the U.S., as well as in England, Germany, and France.
