The historic felony conviction of former President Donald Trump marks a meaningful victory for the beleaguered American legal system and a win for truth over falsehood.
Three other criminal trials involving Trump have bogged down for various reasons. Two impeachments by the House of Representatives ended in partisan votes against conviction in the Senate. But in an ordinary New York courtroom, 12 men and women considered the evidence, weighed Trump’s various defenses, and concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that he was lying.
Trump has gotten away with lying to an extent unmatched in U.S. history, and he may get away with it again in the November presidential election. In the courtroom, however, truth prevailed. That matters.
Understanding why Trump was convicted can tell us a lot about how the criminal justice system differs from large-scale electoral politics — and why the former is more resistant to the problem of lies and misinformation.