The Patriot Post® · Legal Target: Trump
The legal persecution of Donald Trump has gone wall to wall this week.
In New York, he’s facing legal peril for alleged bookkeeping violations related to hush money paid to a mistress, as well as significant economic damage for allegedly over-inflating real estate values. In Georgia, the prosecutor leading the witch hunt against him for trying to “steal” the election there is on the defensive over her own illicit relationship. And in Washington, DC, Special Counsel Jack Smith is pushing for a speedy trial against the former president also over trying to “steal” the election. That’s to say nothing of Smith’s case against Trump for the alleged mishandling of classified documents or the recent unbelievable second settlement against Trump in a defamation case.
With four indictments and 91 charges against Trump, on top of two civil trials, there’s never a dull moment.
But none of it’s political, USA Today assures us: “While Trump has long alleged that the four sets of criminal trials he faces are simply a roadblock for his reelection campaign, there is no evidence federal or state officials are targeting the former president’s White House bid.”
Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha! That’s some Babylon Bee-level satire right there.
We’ll dispense with a couple of the quicker updates first. Yesterday, New York Judge Juan Merchan rejected Trump’s in-person attempt to dismiss Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg’s preposterous case against the former president. The case will proceed to trial on March 25 as originally scheduled. Long story short, Trump allegedly had an affair with porn star Stormy Daniels and paid her hush money through his then-attorney, Michael Cohen. The George Soros-backed Bragg went through serious legal contortions to come up with 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover it up.
Bragg’s is an incredibly weak case, but that doesn’t mean he’ll lose the first-ever criminal trial against a former U.S. president. Either way, it’s not helpful to Trump’s election prospects for suburban moms to be reminded of his history with women.
As for Jack Smith’s election case, Trump’s legal team pushed to delay that trial, telling the U.S. Supreme Court this week that Smith has given “the appearance of partisanship” and that he answers to Joe Biden, who just happens to be (for the moment, anyway) Trump’s likely opponent in the 2024 election. Smith, on the other hand, says the case is one of “unparalleled gravity” and that “there is a national interest in seeing the crimes alleged in this case resolved promptly.”
Also in that case, Trump opted not to further pursue immunity for his role in the January 6 riot.
Back in New York, Judge Arthur Engoron ruled in the sham trial over Trump’s alleged civil fraud regarding real estate values that Trump must pay a fine of $355 million, and he imposed a three-year ban for the Trump Organization taking loans in New York. Trump’s sons were also fined $4 million each, with a two-year ban. It’s a tough ruling for the Trump organization, all because he falsely inflated the value of his real estate holdings. Yet it’s also a “crime” with no victim. Banks gave him loans. He repaid the loans. It would be the end of the story were it not for New York Attorney General Letitia James, whose campaign pledge was to get Trump for [insert details later]. Then there’s the partisan hack of a judge, who had already effectively said Trump was guilty before the hearings even began.
However, the case that has everyone’s attention today is the one in Georgia.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis took the stand yesterday to give feisty testimony rebutting allegations that she had an improper relationship with her lead prosecutor in the case, the now-divorcing Nathan Wade. Willis is accused of hiring Wade because of the relationship, which one witness says began in 2019 — well before Willis chose him for this case in 2021 — as well as paying him a far higher rate than other attorneys and reimbursing him in cash for travel expenses. She admits to the relationship but says it began after he was chosen. “It is a lie!” she yelled yesterday from the stand while holding up documents serving as evidence of her misdeeds.
Judge Scott McAfee called a short recess for Willis to cool down, and she is not retaking the stand today as initially expected. Her self-defense was nearly as ridiculous as her RICO case against Trump and his campaign. “The case will have to be dropped,” Trump said, calling Willis “disgraced.”
According to Willis, her critics are — wait for it — racist.
If she’s removed from the case, it’s unclear whether or how it will proceed, but Trump has to like his chances after the circus Willis made of it.
So after all that, here’s the real point. Joe Biden is clearly unfit to serve another four years — the special counsel in his own classified documents case said so. Therefore, the only hope for Team Biden (or whoever replaces him on the ballot) is to make the election a referendum on Trump.
The Democrat strategy is already working given that Trump is sailing to the GOP nomination. That doesn’t mean it will continue working, especially if Biden remains on the ballot and polls continue to show Trump in the lead. Biden might be the only guy Trump could beat, but the reverse may also be true. Democrats are counting on a tidal wave of negative media coverage from multiple trials to overwhelm Trump this year.
Republicans see it as two-tiered justice, and most are rallying to the former president. Nearly 80% of Democrats don’t even want Trump on the ballot. Where will independents fall? That depends far more on what happens in the courtroom than it does on the campaign stump.
(Updated)
Correction: Trump did not use campaign funds to pay Daniels as originally stated, but rather used Trump Organization funds to reimburse his then-attorney, Michael Cohen for his payment to Daniels.