Jonathan P. Baird lives in Wilmot.

The collective freak out of the Republican Party leadership after the criminal conviction of their cult leader, Donald Trump, was predictable. They appeared to be in a state of disbelief when a New York jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records. The disbelief quickly transformed into anger but it did not change the fact Donald Trump, the party’s nominee for president, is now a convicted felon.

Still, the reactions have been extreme with Republican leader after Republican leader denouncing the trial as “banana republic” justice. Mike Johnson, Tim Scott, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Byron Donalds all performed for their leader. It looked like a requirement in Trump’s vice presidential sweepstakes was to show a requisite amount of outrage while bizarrely dressing up like the leader when they went to the trial. That was showing fealty to the boss.

Nothing changes the fact that Judge Juan Merchan was an eminently fair jurist. He made evidentiary rulings that went both ways. He conducted the trial in a dignified and restrained way. Although he was repeatedly challenged by behavior that elicited 10 contempts, the judge’s demeanor remained impeccable throughout the trial.

No one knows in advance what a jury will find. Before the verdict, many commentators predicted a hung jury. They repeatedly said all it takes is one juror to hold out. It would appear the jury was persuaded by the strength of the prosecution’s case. They presented over 20 witnesses and they bolstered the case with a wealth of documentary evidence.

The defense presented one witness who failed to help Trump’s side of the case. As was his right, defendant Trump decided not to testify but he had every opportunity to do so. Back in April, he had said he “absolutely” would testify. It is a safe bet that his lawyers wisely advised him not to risk cross-examination and, for once, he listened. Still, the deeper problem for the defense was that it had no coherent theory of the case. It ended up taking potshots at weaknesses in the prosecution case.

Without evidence, Trump said the trial was “corrupt,” the judge was “conflicted,” the jury was “rigged” and he called it a “disgrace.” He claimed President Biden was responsible for his prosecution. It needs to be pointed out that state prosecutors like Alvin Bragg, the prosecutor in this case, are not appointed by anyone connected to the federal government. New York elects attorney generals and Bragg was elected Manhattan DA in 2021. Biden had nothing to do with the New York state prosecution.

Convicted felon Trump trafficks in empty hyperbole where everything is a “scam,” a “hoax,” or a “witch hunt.” It is a tired playbook. Behind the verbiage is no evidence supporting his claims. Notice that when Trump talks about his trial being rigged, he never offers specifics. He has frequently been comparing himself to Al Capone which is telling. When Trump says the trial was election interference, he moves to a rhetorical level beyond the facts of his case.

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What has been shocking in the aftermath of Trump’s conviction has been the Republican all-out attack on the legitimacy of the courts. They have moved from the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen to a Big Lie about the justice system being rigged. They can’t handle the truth that Trump was fairly convicted by a jury of his peers, twelve independent private citizens.

The danger in discrediting courts cuts deep. Republicans are undermining the rule of law.

Since the verdict, many responses on the Republican side have been unhinged. Trump initially reacted, saying Judge Merchan was from Colombia, as if that meant anything. He didn’t point out that his favorite judge, Aileen Cannon, was also born in Colombia. House Speaker Johnson called on the Supreme Court, even without jurisdiction, to “step in” and overturn the jury verdict. Former Trump aides Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon (also heading to prison) have argued for revenge prosecutions against Democrats.

Far-right influencer and close Trump ally Laura Loomer has called for executing Democrats, not just locking them up. Trump himself has demanded that members of the January 6 committee be prosecuted.

Part of the transformation of the Republican Party into an intolerant amalgam of authoritarians is their escalation of reaction. They are saying Trump can never be found guilty of any crime and that a trial is only fair if Trump wins. That is like the definition of being unassailable. Not surprisingly, Russ Vought, a Christian nationalist who is touted as a potential Trump chief of staff, talks about “post-constitutional” government.

They are not simply disagreeing with Judge Merchan or the jury. There was a reason for jury anonymity. Too many Republicans are resorting to threatening perceived opponents. Think about the pattern of harassment against Ruby Freeman, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Rep. Ilhan Omar and Sen. Jon Tester. There has been a tidal wave of threats against public servants in the last few years.

In appreciating the New York trial, it must be noted that this looks like the only case that will be heard before the November election and that is too bad. The New York case had been widely seen as the weakest case of the four pending against Trump. The American people deserve to know the outcome of all these cases before the election. They are relevant to whether Trump’s candidacy should even continue.

Rachel Maddow, in her book “Prequel,” compares the effort to prosecute Trump to the Great Sedition Trial of 1944. Back then, a number of Republican congressmen were allowing Nazi propaganda to be disseminated through their offices. They worked closely with George Sylvester Viereck, a German-American Nazi propagandist and agent. Viereck used the congressional franking privileges of two senators.

The federal government tried 30 defendants for sedition. Maddow shows how political pressure from powerful people undermined the prosecution. During the course of the case, two very effective prosecutors were removed from pursuing the cases by their superiors.

The parallel to the multi-pronged effort by Georgia Republicans to remove prosecutor Fani Willis from Trump’s Georgia prosecution could not be clearer. The Georgia case is strong so it has to be stopped. The two federal cases are also strong so they also must at least be delayed. A helping hand from the Supreme Court majority and a Trump-appointed, in-the-bag judge make bad things go away and advances Trump’s re-election possibilities.

Saying the trial was a lie is consistent with Trump saying the election was a lie. In Trump mythology, he cannot lose. Do not be surprised if soon you will hear Trump say he did not lose the New York trial. In Trump world, truth is whatever he says it is.