Reality vs The Unprincipled: A Tale of 'Convictions'

Heidi Siegmund Cuda on Trump's 34 felony convictions and a possible fusion of Russia's 'mental invasion' and good-old-fashioned greed

"It was a strategic mistake of some Western institutions to think they could live without principles.”—Catherine Belton, author of Putin’s People

Let’s start with reality: on 30 May, Donald J Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts for knowingly falsifying financial records in an election interference case colloquially known as New York’s ‘hush money’ trial.

Trump joins other convicted felons in his midst — his 2016 campaign manager Paul Manafort; his former national security advisor Mike Flynn; his longtime advisor Roger Stone; the CEO of his company Allen Weisselberg; his former attorney Michael Cohen; his chief strategist Stephen Bannon, who is due to report to prison on 1 July for contempt of Congress.

That’s the short list — there are many more.

But to be clear: that is reality. Trump is at the center of a criminal syndicate, with a long list of prosecutions and convictions.