Gregg Nunziata Statement on Trump’s Conviction

Executive Director Gregg Nunziata issued the following statement on the criminal conviction of Donald Trump:

America’s criminal justice system is a jewel of our Constitutional inheritance. The Founders thought deeply about both order and liberty, values reflected in the authority of the courts and the rights of the accused. In America, nobody—no matter how rich, powerful, or famous—stands above the law, not even a former or future president. 

At the same time, no person—no matter how disreputable or disliked by the people or the powerful—stands naked before the coercive power of the state. The Constitution defends the rights of all, even those who would not defend it in return. These two competing principles have been markedly on display in recent weeks as we have witnessed the spectacle of Donald Trump’s criminal trial.

Americans also enjoy a constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech. Citizens may well disagree with the conclusion of the jury today, the judge’s legal rulings, or the prosecutor’s decisions. The result of this trial was never going to please everyone. But Americans should be united in defense of our institutions and the principles for which they stand, even in times of division and great pressure.

In this moment, that means accepting the conviction as a legitimate outcome, based on the jury’s assessment of the evidence presented. People are free to dislike the outcome, strongly and vocally if they so choose. But it does damage to our system of justice—and the network of laws, norms, and institutions tasked with their upkeep—to pretend that it was arrived at in anything other than a legitimate manner. The former president, of course, retains his rights to appeal and press whatever legal arguments remain to him. This is our system, and people of conscience should acknowledge this reality and move forward on that basis.