Accountability lives to fight another day

I didn’t expect this at all.   [Mother Jones]( MoJo Reader, I’ll admit, I didn’t expect Donald Trump to be [found guilty](—much less on all 34 counts. No matter how open-and-shut the hush-money case seemed, when the verdict landed, I realized: I’ve trained myself to expect disappointment when it comes to accountability in general, and for Trump in particular. After all, we’ve just been through a news cycle about a Supreme Court justice who displayed flags associated with extremism, and the reaction from our government institutions was a loud and clear “meh.” But this verdict did not come from an institution. Neither Congress nor the Supreme Court got to weigh in. This came from 12 regular people who agreed to do a hard, time-consuming, virtually unpaid job for weeks at a time, simply because it’s their responsibility in a democracy. People who appear—based on their furious note-taking and detailed information requests—to have taken their job pretty damn seriously. So many high-powered people failed to hold Trump accountable for so many things, from the set of The Apprentice to the steps of the US Capitol. Senators who refused to impeach him. Judges and justices who enabled his delay strategies. Wealthy donors who flocked back to him when the poll numbers ticked up. But 12 regular people took a look at the evidence before them and came to a conclusion. As a journalist who spends her life working to help uncover abuses of power, that was incredible to see. In this business, it’s easy to lose faith in accountability. But when you lose faith, you give up. And give up is the one thing we can’t do right now. My colleague Russ Choma didn’t give up. He has been covering the ways that Trump tries to avoid accountability for eight years now—starting with the 2016 campaign, when he broke some of the most important stories about Trump’s business dealings and introduced us to the word “[emoluments](.” After the election was over, a major newspaper editor congratulated us on that reporting: “We’re going to put a team on those conflicts of interest now,” he promised. Really, I thought, now you’re getting started? It was also Russ who sat in that chilly courthouse in New York for much of the past six weeks, covering the hush-money trial and [filing stories]( about it that you wouldn’t see anywhere else. He was also [in the room]( for the E. Jean Carroll rape accusation case and likewise had great insights about it. And back in 2019, Russ exposed a hard to get, very opaque story about [a mysterious $50 million loan]( to Trump that caught the eye of government investigators. Russ has not been alone in breaking big stories that get folded into proceedings that can bring about accountability like today’s. Meet MoJo reporter Dan Friedman: Twice, the January 6 committee played [the explosive leaked audio of Steve Bannon]( that Dan uncovered, showing that Trump's failed coup attempt was premeditated. In the seditious conspiracy trial of an Oath Keeper member, a [video first reported by Dan]( was played in court as evidence that the paramilitary group appeared to be preparing for violence. Prosecutors previously [cited Dan’s reporting]( on Kraken lawyer Sidney Powell paying lawyers for top Oath Keepers, and they [cited a tweet]( of his as they refuted efforts by Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes to bar key evidence against him. You know who else was behind Russ and Dan as they dug into these high-impact stories? You. All of you, who read Mother Jones’ (and other) journalism, who [support it]( when you can, share it with those in your circles, and put it to work out in the world. You make it happen, because you too believe in accountability. About that: Our big fundraising campaign has been lagging for the last week or so, and a big reason is probably that a lot of people have come to expect disappointment when it comes to accountability, like I did. But you haven’t, and it seems plausible more people will see that facts still matter after today. So a huge thank you to everyone who has recently supported our hard-hitting journalism, or support our work with a monthly donation. And an urgent request for those of you who can afford to [pitch in a few bucks](, but haven’t yet, because maybe you thought what difference does it make? Let’s [mark this historic day with a donation in service of truth and accountability](. I’d also love to know how you feel in this moment? Did you find yourself surprised by how much you’d steeled yourself for another letdown? Or were you confident that no one can skate forever? [Let me know what you make of this huge moment here](. Thanks for reading, and thanks for being part of such a large community of people who believe in the power of investigative journalism to bring about change. Onward, [Monika Bauerlein, CEO] Monika Bauerlein, CEO Mother Jones [Donate](   [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755