Former President Donald Trump faces an uncertain future following his guilty verdict in New York, but Alabama GOP chairman John Wahl is confident the American people will see through the "injustice" and that the ruling will ultimately be overturned.
A Manhattan jury found Trump guilty Thursday on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to cover up paying "hush money" to porn star Stormy Daniels.
SEE: Trump convicted of 34 felonies in hush-money trial — 'A very dark day in American history'
With a sentencing hearing set for July 11, Trump could face a variety of punishments, including jail time. However, Wahl said that's unlikely, particularly not before the General Election in November. Regardless, the verdict may be moot if he wins back the White House or a higher court overturns it, he said.
"I do not see any way this is going to be decided before November, so I do not expect him to be in jail anytime before the election," Wahl told 1819 News. "If he is elected, he has presidential immunity, but I believe strongly that we will see this verdict overturned at the higher court levels. There's just no way you can see this as anything but the weaponization of the justice system, and with that bias that was forced on the jury, I think the higher courts will reverse this."
Wahl said the verdict wouldn't negatively impact Trump's support for reelection and might actually increase it, as has been the case with the other indictments in Washington, D.C., Georgia and Florida.
"I genuinely believe the American people see this as an injustice, and that's why we haven't seen these court cases affect his poll numbers," he said. "I hope and pray the American people see through this, and I think so far, they have."
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He continued, "If you have a free society and a respect for our constitutional republic and our democratic election process, you cannot allow the justice system to get involved in elections. We have got to recognize that, stand up against it and make sure that we do not allow this to happen in our country."
While Wahl said he agreed that no one should be above the law — a common mantra of Democrats and others cheering on the verdict — he believes Trump was politically targeted and put through an unfair, biased trial.
"I think it is very clear this was politically motivated when every single fact of this case was public eight years ago. If there was a genuine concern for the legalities here, this case would have been tried in 2016, and it was not." Wahl said. "Charges were not filed until Donald Trump announced he was running for president again and started beating Joe Biden in the polls."
He added, "I believe in the rule of law. No one should be above the law, but within the rule of law is the right to a fair trial. Donald Trump did not get a fair trial."
Shortly after the verdict was announced, Wahl issued a statement on behalf of ALGOP:
To connect with the story's author or comment, email daniel.taylor@1819news.com or find him on Twitter and Facebook.
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