Trump's attacks on US justice system after guilty verdict could be useful to autocrats like Putin

After his historic guilty verdict, Donald Trump attacked the U.S. criminal justice system. He made unfounded claims of a “rigged” trial that echoed remarks from the Kremlin. Former senior White House national security advisor Fiona Hill and other analysts say Trump’s attacks could be useful to Russian President Vladimir Putin and other autocrats. Those leaders hope to boost their standing among their own citizens, potentially sway the upcoming U.S. presidential election in which Trump is the presumptive Republican nominee, and undermine the United States’ global influence. Moscow agreed with Trump’s assessment of Thursday’s verdict. A Kremlin spokesman called it the “elimination of political rivals by all possible legal or illegal means.”