Long on Delusion, Short on Grandeur

The scales of justice have been recently tipping against former president Donald Trump. A civil suit by New York State Attorney General Letitia James to the tune of $250 million against his business practices is the latest legal hurdle Trump, his family and business must deal with. Even worse, his financial reputation and brand are on the line, which to Trump is more of a threat than any criminal probe.

Those potential criminal actions include investigations of his handling of classified information, his efforts to overturn his election loss in 2020 (cases in D.C. and Fulton County, Ga.), and his role in the insurrection of Jan. 6, 2021.  For good measure there will be the final scheduled hearing from the next January 6 Select Committee, which I think will be a doozey that the evidence presented may eventualy lead to a criminal referral.

All of these investigations and lawsuits will move slowly as attempts to stonewall and delay will be the primary legal strategy on the part of Trump and his fluid legal team. While full accountability and justice may not take place for several years, if at all—a pace which is guaranteed to frustrate the anti-Trump crowd—the investigations will hover over Trump, his Republican congressional sycophants and his cultists like a gray, damp fog for the foreseeable future.

What has been predictable is that Trump, his lawyers and his supporters believe that these investigations and lawsuits are politically motivated witch hunts orchestrated by Democrats that are based on fear of losing the presidential election of 2024 to the most powerful Republican.

That’s total nonsense. Democrats didn’t incite the insurrection on January 6, nor did they try to use fake electors to change the outcomes in states in 2020.  Nor did any Democrat ask a state official to "find" additional votes. And no Democrat removed classified documents and left them around unsecured at a country club, whose purpose is open to speculation. Trump’s actions triggered the investigations, not Democrats.

Courtesy of Mediastouch (Instagram)

Keep in mind that Trump has yet to declare his candidacy. I personally believe he ultimately will not run, but he will try to stay in the game to lure more bucks from his gullible base. You know, legal fees can be uber-expensive; someone has to pay them, and it won’t be Trump. Count on it.

To be sure, Trump lost in 2020 and there is little reason to expect him to garner more votes the next time. Yes, inflation may still be high and wrongly blamed on Biden, but Trump and the GOP have yet to offer a specific plan to address it other than bromides and fantasies.

The baggage from the ongoing criminal and civil probes and litigation will haunt the former guy and make for an abundance of fodder for his opponent to exploit. The vengeful actions of House Republicans, should they win back the House, will nauseate a large swath of the population and doom any Republican presidential candidate. Trump and the investigations even if not yet brought to a resolution will cost him with independent voters and suburban women with whom he had trouble winning over in 2020.

To say these investigations were launched strictly to prevent Trump from winning in ’24 is delusional and political spin. He will not be formidable if he runs, and he will be extremely lucky if he is not indicted by that point.