‘Justice is king,’ some Haitians say, after Trump found guilty in hush-money trial 

NEW YORK— A majority of Haitians are feeling relief, and some glee, after a jury found Donald Trump guilty of lying about hush-money payments he made to silence a porn star through a web of false business records during the 2016 election that resulted in him becoming President of the United States. The jury’s decision marks the first time in U.S. history that a former president and current presidential candidate has been convicted of a crime.

“I am rejoicing, not only for me, but for all Black people all over the world,” said Jean Ary Ceant, a Fort Lauderdale-based entrepreneur and international business consultant. “Today, I witnessed justice in action. I couldn’t be more grateful to witness history in the making.”

Santra Denis, founder and president of Avanse Ansanm, a South Florida-based civic engagement organization, said seeing the powerful being held to account is a valuable experience to witness.

“We live in a country where we don’t talk much about impunity,” Denis said. “This allows us to see our justice system in practice, not just in theory. Trump should be held accountable for what he’s done. 

“He thought he was going to get away with it,” she said.

In East Flatbush, Senior Pastor Samuel Nicolas was finalizing plans for a non-denominational prayer vigil for Haiti headlined by Rev. Al Sharpton when the news broke early evening. As Nicolas shared the verdict from the pulpit of Evangelical Crusade Christian Church that brought a “remarkable and stark change,” some congregants clapped their hands, while others murmured.

“I understand your applause and I understand your concerns as well,” he said. “It has shifted this atmosphere, and it has shifted also the events of this evening. Everybody is focused on the letter T, the letter R, letter U, the letter M, the letter P – Trump. Everyone is focused on that tonight.”

Trial ‘without fear or favor’ 

Earlier on Thursday, a Manhattan jury convicted Trump on all 34 counts in the hush-money trial. Prosecutors proved that Trump instructed his then-lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen to pay off Stormy Daniels, an adult film actress and producer who had sex with Trump in 2006, and to “cook the books.” That is, Trump and Cohen covered up the $130,000 payoff by reimbursing Cohen a total of $420,000 through a series of false invoices Cohen billed to Trump as business expenses. 

According to prosecutors, Cohen paid Daniels not to reveal the tryst as part of an ongoing strategy to “catch and kill” damaging stories about Trump. At the time of the payment in 2016, Trump was in a tight race with Hillary Clinton and, among numerous past acts that raised questions about Trump’s morals, the bombshell Access Hollywood tape had just been revealed.

These facts came out during a 6-week trial that attracted friends, relatives and political loyalists to the courtroom as well as protesters displaying anti-Trump placards outside the courthouse. Both the prosecution and Trump’s legal team consisted of high profile attorneys. One notable Trump lawyer is Emil Bove, who represented Eddy Alexandre, the EminiFX CEO convicted of fraudulently bilking investors out of at least $250 million in a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme.

The jury convicted Trump after 10 hours of deliberation.

“The 12 everyday jurors vowed to make a decision based on the evidence and the law — and the evidence and the law alone,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg said in a televised press conference after the verdict. “Their deliberations led them to a unanimous conclusion, beyond a reasonable doubt: That the defendant, Donald J. Trump, is guilty of 34 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree, to conceal a scheme to corrupt the 2016 election.

“While this defendant may be unlike any other in American history, we arrived at this trial, and ultimately today at this verdict, in the same manner as every other case that comes through the courtroom doors: by following the facts and the law and doing so without fear or favor,” Bragg said.

Trump, who remains the presumptive Republican nominee set to challenge President Joe Biden in the November elections, called the trial “rigged” and a witch hunt to keep him from office. He will likely appeal and will not face prison time on the felony conviction, various legal analysts have said. 

“The hypocrisy is real”

Reactions to the verdict sprang up from Trump’s most prominent political allies and biggest critics as well as scholars, and everyday people from all over the world who had followed the trial.

Among Haitians in the diaspora and Haiti — many of whom still harbor distaste for Trump after he called Haiti a “sh**hole” country — a sense of relief and righteousness overwhelming carried the day.

To Ceant, the verdict proves that the U.S. is the biggest democracy and that “justice is really the king.”

“Even at the highest level, justice gets done,” Ceant said by phone from the Dominican Republic, where he has ventures.

Referring to the anti-Haitian rhetoric seen during the Trump administration, Denis added that people like him on “the bully pulpit” should take some time to reflect on themselves.

“The hypocrisy is real,” Denis said. “It’s funny how people like him look down on countries that are struggling, and meanwhile they’re breaking laws themselves.”

Other Haitians who expressed support for the former president, mostly on the basis of his evangelical alliances, see the Trump legal cases as the sham the former Apprentice star has told his base they are.

Rev. Daniel Ulysse, chairman of the National Haitian American Republican Assembly in Brooklyn, is one such supporter. He said Biden, the State Department and the Democratic Party are failing the U.S.

“These people will do anything to block Trump, they’ll go out of their way to prevent Trump from being re-elected,” Ulysse said. “The timing of the trial, right before the election, is because they have nothing to run on. They’re trying to keep people busy [distracted].”

In Haiti, most commenters were focused on the imminent arrival of newly-named transitional Prime Minister Garry Conille. However, a few took time to reflect on the Trump verdict and what it says about the strength of democracy in the U.S.  For them, it’s a welcome contrast to the lack of accountability faced by Haitian politicians, many of whom are under corruption investigation. 

They too debated whether the decision bodes well or not for Trump. Where one user said the verdict would make Trump more popular, others said voters would reject him. 

“Americans will not have a convicted felon as President,” said an X user posting.

Pap gen bagay konsa pyes. Ameriken pap mete yon moun ki kondane krim kom Presidan.

— _Nadine|01katarina.eth (@_01Katarina) May 30, 2024

Looking toward November 

As the presidential election nears, Trump faces additional legal cases in Georgia, Florida and New York. With the hush-money verdict, the only one likely this year, Trump said afterward that he is looking forward to voters rendering their verdict on Nov. 5. 

“Guilty on 34 felonies will only galvanize his base and leave people questioning the legitimacy of this democracy,” Emmanuel Depas, a New York-based attorney.  

However, most Haitians interviewed hope the outcome will make a difference in Biden’s favor. 

Ceant, for one, believes if Trump prevails, he might seek “retribution” by rolling back civil rights.

“If Donald Trump comes back into power, there’s nothing that says he can’t come back to undo the laws that will send us to the back of the bus,” he said.

Haitian Times Reporter Juhakenson Blaise contributed to this report.

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‘Justice is king,’ some Haitians say, after Trump found guilty in hush-money trial  was first posted on June 1, 2024 at 8:00 am.