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A New York jury just killed what little incentive good people have to run for office. Public jobs might come with a comfortable salary and government benefits, but now they also come with the possibility of jail time.

Former President Donald Trump was found guilty on all 34 felony charges of financial misconduct on Thursday by a jury plucked from Democrat-dominated New York City — though nobody can quite articulate what crime was committed.

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) declined to press charges. The Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to press charges. The Southern District of New York’s U.S. attorney’s office declined to press charges, and even prosecutors who worked under Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s predecessor declined to press charges. Once the 2024 election rolled around with the likelihood of a Trump triumph, however, Bragg was quick to deliver the first criminal indictment of a former president, ushering in a new era of political lawfare in public service.

Trump now reportedly faces up to 136 years behind bars for the alleged clerical error that was previously written off by federal and local officials. Sentencing for the GOP presidential candidate is scheduled for July 11, just four days before the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukee.

The New York jury conviction marks the completion of Democrats’ top item on their policy agenda since Trump first ran for office. The former president’s real crime? Becoming president in the first place. Between the Russia hoax, the Ukraine impeachment, and the hysteria over his White House speech on Jan. 6, 2021, for which he is still facing charges, Trump has run up against Democrats’ no-holds-barred strategy for years, only to be convicted by a jury in a deep-blue state on charges brought by a far-left prosecutor who ran on prosecuting the chief political opposition.

Trump’s example offers a chilling message to anyone who might have considered running for office — especially opponents of the Democrat regime. And it’s not just Trump’s who’s faced the Democrats’ Soviet-style political prosecutions. Trump’s former White House staffers, from Steve Bannon to Peter Navarro, are either in jail or facing potential jail time after having been swept up in Democrats’ lawfare.

Democrats opened up a pandora’s box in American politics with the aggressive litigation campaign to thwart their top challenger this fall. Some Republicans are almost certain to retaliate. People of integrity who might have run for office down the road are now likely to think twice.

Some noble people used to run for office in America. That was before Democrats inaugurated the nation’s banana republic era. The best people aren’t often the ones who run for office in the Third World.

Tristan Justice is the western correspondent for The Federalist and the author of Social Justice Redux, a conservative newsletter on culture, health, and wellness. He has also written for The Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal. His work has also been featured in Real Clear Politics and Fox News. Tristan graduated from George Washington University where he majored in political science and minored in journalism. Follow him on Twitter at @JusticeTristan or contact him at Tristan@thefederalist.com. Sign up for Tristan’s email newsletter here.