Kay if I am six forty years later with Mo Kelly, We're live everywhere
in the iHeartRadio app. It was an emotional day to day. I need
not tell you it was very emotional. I think America is going through some
stuff right about now. In fact, America has been going through some stuff
for quite some time and will continue to go through some stuff for the foreseeable
future. As you know, former President Donald Trump was convicted on thirty four
felon accounts. Today, some folks are ecstatic, some folks are pretty mad,
pissed off. Some people say the verdict is proof of the system working,
and some people say the verdict proofs of the justice system is corrupt and
broken, And maybe you fall somewhere in between. New York didn't allow cameras
or audio streams of its court proceedings, not just for this trial, for
any trial. And because of that, whatever we heard or saw, and
I put that in quotation marks any analysis. We got excerpts from court transcripts
that was all filtered through whatever media you and I were watching or listening to.
We didn't actually see the trial. We didn't actually hear the trial.
None of us experienced any of the testimony, not one witness. We didn't
experience the opening and closing arguments. All of us were even privy to evidence
and rulings made outside the presence of the jury. Thinks that the jury would
not have seen, would not have heard. All of us have feelings about
the verdict, and everyone on radio and TV has been telling you how they
feel about the verdict. Well except for me, and I haven't said what
I feel about the verdict, and I'm not going to, at least not
yet. I think there's some other things we need to cover first. I
want to go a different route. The verdict, as a factual matter,
is momentous in the history of this country. The first time a former president
has been indicted, put on criminal trial, and convicted. It is historic.
That's not an opinion, that's not a value judgment. That's just a
statement of fact. From where I sit, there are three threads I think
we should follow, not just tonight, but in the coming days, in
the coming weeks, and coming months. There are three threads, three roads,
if you will, we should follow legal, political, social, legal,
political, and social. Let's first start with legal. Legally, Donald
Trump is a convicted felon full stop. He can, and he will appeal,
but he's a convicted felon and there are limits on what grounds in which
he can appeal. It's not a do over, it's not a retrial.
You can't just say, well, I thought the judge was biased and corrupt
and conflicted. No, that's not rounds for an appeal. There's got to
be some sort of error in the administration of the trial. You can appeal
on things like evidence which was allowed in, or testimony allowed in prejudicial versus
probative, things like that. But regardless of the appeals process, and that
will play out on its own, the justice system still moves forward. It's
not like they're gonna hold up sentencing to see what happens with the appeal.
Trump will still have to show up for sentencing. That clock does not stop,
and he'll be sentenced, ironically enough, just days before the RNC,
the Republican National Convention. Legally, he can still run for president and he's
not gonna slow down. Legally, he can still become president. Legally,
he can still serve as president even from prison. Awkward, but legally he
could do it. It's not clear on whether he'd be allowed to vote because
he's a Florida resident, and convicted felons can't vote in Florida until they complete
their sentence. So going back to what happens at sentencing, that could include
a suspended sentence or probation that could impact or preclude him from voting all together,
or have no impact at all. So that's something that remains to be
seen. That's a part of the legal evolution of all this. All right,
let's go to the political, because we all care about the political.
Politically, Donald Trump is going to continue to use all this as a fundraising
tool and he's going to make millions and millions and millions and millions, and
most of it will go to legal fees. And there's nothing wrong with that,
you know, political discussion, legal discussion not the same. But politically,
that's how he's going to use it. Politically, it's going to be
pretty complicated for the Republican Party because Republicans down ballot. I'm talking about people
who are running for state Senate, or they're running for Senate, or they're
running for Congress, or they're running for mayor same ballot, but down ballot
they're going to have to either defend or distance themselves from Donald Trump. That's
easy to do if you're in a solid red state, but not so easy
if you're in a purple one or a purple district. Thirty four fellon in
convictions. It's just a fact. You don't have to like it, but
it is a fact. It's not the best way to recruit independent or moderate
voters. It's an uphill climb in that way. Just trust me. It's
not a plus. Politically, the GOP is going to have to make some
tough decisions. There's a presidential debate. Remember that it's in less than a
month. Less than a month. That's probably going to be a topic.
I don't know how it's going to play out on that debate stage, but
it's definitely going to be a question or answer on that debate stage. Don't
call me prophetic, just know it's coming. Let's talk about the social we
did the legal political. Here's the social Americans. We were already messed up
in the head, we were already uptight Americans, we were already extremely divided.
This doesn't bring us together. No debate there. This does not bring
us together. But the legal system was not designed to bring anyone together.
It exists independently. It adjudicates cases. It's not about kumbaya, it's not
about bringing Americans together. But here's what I will say, And this is
the only feelings I'm going to give as of yet. You can't love America
only when you win. For all I hear about loving the Constitution, being
a patriot, I love America. You can't only love America when you win.
By that, I mean an election. You can't love America only when
you like court verdicts. I mean those things don't intersect. That's like saying
I love my wife when she does what I tell her what to do.
That's not love, that's control. You can't only love America when it goes
your way. Think about that twelve jurors. They were unanimous. Maybe a
different twelve people would have yielded a different verdict. Maybe maybe that's why Voider
is so damn important. Different people you might have gotten a different verdict.
That's why elections and appointments of judges are so damn important. But you know
what, that's how our legal system works, our justice system. That's the
way it works. You don't get to tell people America love it or leave
it on Tuesday when your guy wins an election, but then say America has
gone to hell on Wednesday because you don't like the result of a verdict.
I happen to think and I do America, and no one can tell me
otherwise about how I feel about America. Loving America is loving her unconditionally.
It does not mean that you agree with everything that it espouses. It doesn't
mean that you agree with every policy it puts forward. It doesn't mean that
you even like what it's doing internationally as a matter of foreign policy, but
you still love her unconditionally. Love her also means that you should and probably
do, criticize her, and I think that there's room for all of that.
Disagree with the verdict, absolutely sure, Sure, I can't list all
the verdicts that I disagree with. For on a federal level, on a
state level, on a local level. The justice system has not been something
that I've agreed with all the time, almost never, for that matter.
But I still love America, and I do know that our justice system is
the best in the world comparatively. Speaking. For all the misguide to talk
about how we've done devolved into a third world country, clearly you haven't been
to a third world country. If you think that we're on the present piece
of becoming that we are nowhere close. We don't have a kangaroo court system.
We don't have any of that. But You're allowed to feel how you
feel. I'm not going to tell you how to feel. I'm just giving
you some facts. Our system is imperfect and none of the people who comprise
it are perfect. But socially, America is going to go through some stuff.
It's been going through some stuff, and it will for the foreseeable future
because this today was a momentous day. It's not one for celebration. It's
not one to i would say, sensationalize and say that America's gone to hell
in a handbasket. There's much more nuance in here as far as what happened,
why it happened, and where we go from here. And for the
rest of the hour, we're going to be talking about this, where we
go from here, and what to make of this moment you're listening to later
with Moe Kelly on demand from Yes, I'm talking about the verdict which was
handed down today in New York in which former President Donald Trump was convicted on
all thirty four felony counts related to the misdemeanor of falsifying business records, and
then it was escalated to a felony because it was done in service of another
crime that was which was proved today beyond a reasonable doubt according to the jury.
And afterward, former President Trump came out and addressed the media, as
he's often known to do, and he said many of the same things that
he said before. But I want to discuss one of the things, one
of the recurring themes that he's expressed over the many years. He said that
this trial was rigged, or he said, and he said that the judge
was conflicted and corrupted. Well, let me just deal with this idea of
something being rigged. If you know they you know that. Donald Trump said
that the twenty sixteen election was rigged before the election he won. He said
that the twenty twenty election was rigged before the election and he lost, but
the Republicans took control of the House. I'm pretty sure. Don't quote me
on this. I'm pretty sure that the Democrats were so good at rigging elections,
and clearly they're not. If they weren't as inept as I know them
to be, they probably would have rigged it. And I'm saying this tongue
in cheek. They probably would have rigged it so they would have had control
of the House, the Senate, and the Oval Office. Why because they're
all on the same ballot. They only rigged one race on the same ballot,
So that defies credulity, as they say that strains credulity. It's a
little hard to understand that. But if the process is rigged, why would
he be running again? Now? He will say that he's running because he
wants to save America. He wants to save the Constitution. And he's doing
it like they're coming after me because they're trying to get to you. That's
what he often says. But I'm trying to figure out what he's trying to
do for America. I'm trying to figure out, as a voter, what
he hopes to do, other than, i'll say, adjudicate his grievances,
the issues that he's mad about, or the people that he wants to get
back at. But this idea of rigged, if this system is rigged,
it's not rigged very well because the Democrats should do far better than they do.
Don't you think that if the Democrats could rig the presidential election. They
could rig the House election. Don't you think if they could rig the presidential
election, they would have rigged the House and the Senate, so Joe Biden
could have gotten everything done that he wanted to get done, and they wouldn't
have to have any say so from the Republicans. Don't you think that.
I mean, if I'm going to rig an election, that's the first thing
I'm going to do. I'm going to make sure that I rigg the election
so I can get everything I want, not just something that I want,
not just a divided government where Joe Biden can't get much of anything passed,
and he has a divided government where you have Speaker Mike Johnson thwarting him at
every turn, which is okay, that's the whole point of these I call
it the three ring circus, where you have the different branches, the coequal
branches, so you don't have the power of just one person to do everything.
But if you don't have any faith in America, if you don't have
any faith in her electoral processes, if you don't have any faith in the
justice system, then what is it we're talking about? What is it we
have to talk about as Americans. If you actually think that America has fallen
down this hell hole because the guy you didn't want to win one, or
because Donald Trump was convicted today, then I don't know if you really loved
America. And it may be painful to hear that, but I think it's
a fair question to ask if your love is that fragile, or if you
only view love of country through the lens of things going the way that I
want. The only way that Donald Trump lost was because it was fixed,
question mark. The only way that he could have been convicted is because of
some sort of corruption on the part of the judge. And let me talk
about this because I know just a little something about law. There was an
opportunity for the Trump defense to file emotion of recusal against this judge. If
they actually thought that he was somehow corrupt or biased on the take, anything
of that nature, they would have done so, and could have done so
as a precursor to appeal. They could have filed the motion, it would
have been denied, and then they could have appealed using that. For whatever
reasons they did not. That's why I talk about we didn't actually hear or
see what was going on in the trial. Now, I personally I read
the transcripts because I wanted to read as best I could what was actually said.
But for the most part, people did not. People relied on what
they heard on their favorite cable news channel, and then they responded to what
maybe president former President Trump said when he was standing outside of court, but
not what actually happened in the trial. And we have this skewed view of
what our American judicial system, how it's supposed to work, because we're looking
at it through the filters of cable news. Now it actually happened in the
trial. I don't know if people even actually read the indictment. Most people
had talked to have not. Most people I've talked to today have not read
any of the court transcripts. But they are really, really sure of what
they feel about the justice system. It's interesting that everyone who believes the system
is rigged has taken no umbrage with how the current Supreme Court came to be
when all of those elections were going out. It was not rigged. When
Trump's justices were selected, the same justices who everyone believed at one point in
time, we're going to get him off. Scott free. These are the
rumors, these were the conspiracy theories and all of that. Everything can't be
someone else's faulty. It can't be always someone else. That's what I always
tell, even my own children when they come to me and they say,
it's not my fault, it was because of this. Because of that,
I'm like, if you're the only one at the center of this and everything
points to you, it can't be everyone else. And that is how I
look at this situation right now. Well, you mentioned the justices, and
there wouldn't be three appointees of Donald Trump unless he won the twenty sixteen rigged
air quotes election. There wouldn't have been actually one of them unless Mitch McConnell
did not step in and block the nomination process of Merrick Galler Garland. That's
just basic history. If you want to talk about rigged and how the government
is supposed to work, you know, and maybe people don't really know civics,
Maybe they don't know how the country is supposed to work. Maybe they
don't know the coequal branches and how they function together. And we are so
partisan now where we believe that anything when I say is the collective, we
that anything doesn't go our preferred way, that it must be somehow rigged against
us or somehow corrupt, or the other side scheming and making it so there's
I would I will listen to the conversation of Trump not being guilty on the
merits if you want to discuss the case and say because of this witness or
that we can we can have that discussion. But to dismiss out of hand,
well that judge was appointed by a Democrat, so therefore he's corrupt.
And I said, wait a minute, well, well, are we only
going to have politicians are elected officials investigated by people of the same party.
Is that where we're at now? Are we saying that when Bob Menendez is
on trial, it's rigged unless he has a democratic judge. Are we going
to say now that Congressman Queller, when he's on trial, that's it's it's
rigged unless there's a democratic judge. Is that what we're saying? Is that
what we're doing here? It's Later with mo Kelly caf I AM six forty.
We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. You're listening to Later with Moe
Kelly on demand from KFI AM six forty last second, as we continue our
discussion of the Trump verdict today, what it means, legally, politically,
socially, America is going through some stuff. It's an uncomfortable time in America.
It's not the first time, it's not the last time, but it's
definitely a different time. And I was dealing with this idea of everything being
rigged, or so former President Trump was said. He said today after the
verdict that the trial was rigged. It's a disgrace for all America. It's
a common refrain that I hear from people and I and I'm asking the question.
It's almost rhetorical. It's almost rhetorical. Is the assumption that Republicans can
only be investigated by Republicans? Is the expectation that that can only be Republican
appointed judges who can preside over cases which the defendant is a Republican. If
so, that has to work both ways, And if so, then people
who are not Republicans should not take anything that the Supreme Court says with any
type of seriousness. If we're going to look at everything through the lens of
political partisanship, are we saying that only Republicans are above political ideology influencing their
behavior. Is that what we're saying, Because if that's what we're saying,
I can't have a serious conversation with you. I can't. And I'm not
even going to get into all the stuff about Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.
I'm just saying, as a rule of principle, if you think or thought
that Judge Marshawn was somehow corrupt or conflicted, the time for that to have
been addressed would have been in the trial, and the Trump's defense team would
have filed a motion for arsusal along those lines, and then if we're then
subsequently turned down denied, then they could use that on appeal. They did
not do that because why it was not an issue, was not something that
it could support in a court of law. So are we going to talk
about the actual case or we're just going to talk about our feelings in a
nebulous, amorphous way about well, I just don't like the verdict. Okay,
if you don't like the verdict, got it. I feel the same
way about a lot of verdicts. But if we're actually talking about the specifics
of the case, what was done, why it was done, assessing the
evidence which was only before the jury, not what you heard, not what
you read, not what you were told through analysis on cable news. That's
a very different conversation, very different, and I'm willing to have that conversation
with you. But you're of the opinion that, well, it's all rigged,
Then why is Donald Trump running for president? If it's rigged? Either
he believes it or he doesn't believe it. If he does believe it,
well it doesn't matter. And the evil Democrats are masterminds and they are the
puppeteer puppet masters of the world, except they can't figure out how to win
a congressional election on the same ballot names on the same ballot. They can
fix President, but they can't fix Congress, the House. They can't do
all three branches. You know, I'm supposed to believe the Justice Department when
they indict Bob Menendez, but I'm not supposed to believe the Justice system when
they indict in Donald Trump in January sixth. I can't mentally reconcile the two.
It's the same Justice Department and Twayla. You're asking me off air about
how I think this case will impact these other cases against Donald Trump. It's
a great question. I think for the most part, not at all.
Here's what the Manhattan case is. A state level case. It's not a
federal case. It's not anything which is directly connected to the January sixth case
and the mar Lago Classified Documents case. Also, both of the federal cases
have been delayed for varying reasons where it's not going to be heard anytime soon.
It probably not until well into twenty twenty five. Who knows what America
will look like then we won't even know that We'll have a presidential election Between
now and then, there's no telling. I try to tell people with politics
all the time, everything changes just about every week in the months leading up
to an election. How people feel about this moment will be very different.
Two weeks from now, something may happen. Someone may have a medical emergency.
There may be not only an October surprise, but there may be a
June, July, and August surprise. Things will come out, There may
be a video here and an audio tape. Look, Joe Biden could go
up the steps of Air Force one trip and fall all the way down the
steps backward. And that could if not in his life that could incapacitate him
as far as becoming president. Same with Donald Trump at a rally. There
are so many unknowns and variables. Who knows what's going to happen. But
to answer questions specifically with the cases, it's too early to tell. And
for example, how about this now, it came back to me. If
Judge Marshawn were conflicted or corrupt because he was appointed by a Democrat, then
what am I supposed to think about Aileen Cannon who was appointed by Donald Trump.
We can play this game anyhow any way you want. I mean,
is it only okay or is someone only above reproach or speculation when we like
the person, is that what we're doing here? I don't do that.
I don't do that. I look Bob Menendez and I think, hmm,
that God looks guilty, period. Congressman quelor m looks s guilty to me.
And we can run the list of other elected officials and politicians who've gotten
in trouble over the years, and we look at the specifics of the case.
But if we're going to default and assume that the person presiding over the
case, be it Judge Tanya Chuckkin or Judge Murshan or Alien Cannon, then
we just lost our way and there will never be any belief or faith in
this justice system. If today it's the only time that you disagreed with the
verdict, or you think today is beyond the pale and America's justice system has
fallen apart, then you haven't really been sincerely invested in the process. You
just haven't. You can't think that the justice system has somehow run astray today
today, today, Okay. You know my frustration is people generally want to
have it both ways. They want to say that Judge Murshawn is conflicted and
corrupted and act like Samuel Alito with those flags, no big deal, or
Clarence Thomas with all the trips and everything. Oh, that's no big deal.
You can't have it both ways. If you think, well, Marshawn
who was appointed by a Democrat, Judge Aileen Cannon was appointed directly by Donald
Trump, or you could say, if it should get to the Supreme Court,
or there's a case before the Supreme Court regarding presidential immunity, how can
you do that when those Supreme Court justices, some of them were appointed by
Donald Trump. You know what I mean, you can't have it both ways.
If you think that their political ideology trump's either their legal acumen or their
impartiality, then it has to be consistent in the application. That's all I'm
asking for, all I've ever asked for is consistency. And if you believe
that Democrats cannot adjudicate Republicans, then you also have to be of the opinion
that Republicans can judicate democrats. Otherwise you're full of it. You're listening to
later with Moe Kelly on Demand from KFI AM six forty, and I know
there are people who are listening right now. Maybe you want of them who
do not agree with me, vehemently disagree with everything that I said, And
that's okay. That is okay. Won't be the first time, and it
definitely will not be the last time. But I try to be even handed
as far as how I approach these subjects. I try to be consistent as
far as my expectations of whether something is fair or unfair, because at the
end of the end of the day, I'm looking for consistency. Fairness is
a result of consistency. I can't take people seriously who only apply a standard
to one group of people or in one direction, and regardless of whatever you
believe, you believe what you believe, and I know you believe it strongly,
But if you don't believe it consistently, then I don't think we can
have a legitimate conversation. And I'm looking for a legitimate conversation. I think
that there is value in discussing the case of former President Trumpet and what happened
and why it happened, and maybe whose testimony was credible or less credible.
I think there is value and merit and discussing whether you can actually escalate a
misdemean or two a felony. I'm willing to listen to all of that,
But at the same time, I don't want you to sit there and just
disregard the other evidence, which is documentary in nature, the checks, what
was signed, signed by whom. It wasn't just Michael Cohen, it was
also Hope Hicks and others who testified. And I say now, and I
say it every time. Read the indictment, read the actual testimony. Don't
tell me what so and so said on MSNBC, Don't tell me what so
and so alleged on Fox News. Take it from the actual transcript. Tell
me specifically grounds of appeal? What what is it you will be appealing?
Oh, I don't like the verdict. The verdict was unfair. That's not
grounds for appeal. That just means you don't like the verdict, and that
too, is okay, but it's not grounds for an appeal. Big picture,
it's going to be a bumpy ride between now and the presidential inauguration,
whoever that is. It's going to be bumpy for all different reasons, different
steps along the way. We got a presidential debate coming up, we have
a sentencing hearing. We have all sorts of political surprises, which you're going
to happen because politics are dirty. I don't like people trying to conflate politics
and the justice system, but politics is definitely dirty. Sometimes. I think
if we knew more civics, we'd be able to make the distinction between both
and know that this was a state case, not a federal case. And
there's this partition between the president and the Justice Department. YadA YadA, YadA,
blah blah blah. But we'll do that some other day. I love
America, and I don't have to apologize to anyone anyone as to why or
how I love America in spite of what I think are as shortcomings. I
love America in spite of what I know to be. It's complicated and oftentimes
troubling past when it comes to the justice system. But I love America despite
whatever may happen, whether I like what it does, whether I like who's
elected or not, because loving America to me, and this is just me.
Maybe you can turn your love on and off. Maybe your love is
predicated on whether things go your way, but it's not with me. It's
not with me. There have been presidents that I voted for who won,
and there have been presidents I've voted for, excuse me, presidential candidates I've
voted for who have lost. And you know what, the world just keeps
on spinning. And if we already have a longer conversation, I will tell
you all the reasons why who gets elected president has less real impact on your
day to day lives than your mayor, or your city council person, or
your LA county supervisor, or your governor. With the exception of obviously the
Supreme Court justices. If there are any appointees, those individuals can impact your
life for a generation. But that's a different discussion. I love America and
it has nothing to do with today's verdict. It has nothing to do with
what will transpire in the classified documents case. It will have nothing to do
with whatever does happen in the Georgia case, if that ever actually goes to
trial, the Georgia Rico case. It has everything to do with America and
the totality of what she represents and her place in the world. This is
an uncomfortable time and for many people, today is a day that is making
you very angry. I don't celebrate. I have absolutely no emotional attachment to
this case at all. I'm going to sleep like a baby, and I
would have slept like a baby if a former presient and Trump were acquitted on
all counts. It has no impact on my life. Despite what you want
to tell me on social media. This is going to evolve. How it's
going to evolve. We're going to get through this, and no one knows
how it's going to turn out. We didn't know about the verdict today,
and we don't know about any other verdict in the future. We don't know
about the appeal, and we don't know about the election. So for everyone
who wants to say, well, this is going to guarantee that Trump is
going to win, it doesn't work that way. Or this is going to
guarantee that Joe Biden's going to win, it doesn't work that way. Why
because it isn't rigged. It's later with Mo Kelly k IF I am six
forty. We're live everywhere on the iHeartRadio app. More stimulating Tom. There's
no log in require k S. I'm the kost Ehd two Los Angeles,
Orange County, Live everywhere on the radio.