| Posted: 31 March 2023 at 5:00pm | IP Logged | 11
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"I guess this opens the door to any hyper partisan DA indicting political enemies on fake charges."
Multiple media outlets are reporting that sources claim the indictment includes 30 counts of business fraud; not just the misclassification of payments made to Stormy Daniels and Karen Mcdougal.
Right now we don't know anything about those charges. According to CNN, the indictment likely won't be unsealed until Tuesday. So its way too early to conclude they are "fake charges" or that they're politically motivated.
I agree with Ted Lieu's comments on Twitter: "Indicting a former president is a horrible precedent...The only precedent worse than that is to not indict Donald Trump if there is evidence that he committed crimes."
Either way, this is going to be ugly for America. Consider some possible outcomes:
1. The "experts" in the conservative media are correct, and the DA has a weak case because of issues with the statute of limitations or jurisdiction. Consequently, Trump's lawyers are able to win a dismissal. Trump will crow about how this was politically motivated; that Democrats have weaponized the criminal justice system, and that only Trump can fix it. Trump's chances of winning the election will be bolstered.
2. Trump is acquitted. Trump will use this case to make sure he is the biggest story in the news, and will get free press every day for the next year, while this is in court; press he will use to continue spewing his divisive rhetoric and other BS. When the acquittal finally happens, he will spin it. The U.S. looks like a banana republic. Meanwhile, the existence of the case will immunize him against attacks on his conduct by other Republicans, because all of them are claiming Dems have rigged the system against conservatives, and if they admitted Trump was justly charged, they would have to give up a key talking point.
3. Trump is convicted. Justice is done, which makes this outcome worthwhile, but there are still costs. Trump still gets a year of free press, the country still becomes further divided, and political discourse is further poisoned. If the conviction somehow stops him from running for president, then Republicans run a different candidate (probably De Santis) who has a better chance of winning than Trump did (bad for Dems; maybe bad for the country, depending on who it is)
I think the least destructive outcome is:
4. Trump cuts a deal. He'll claim that any illegal activity was inadvertent, and this was all politically motivated, but his claims will be undercut by an admission of guilt, and the fact that the deal avoids prison time. There will be people who think he escaped accountability again, but this is the least traumatic outcome for the country, and his campaign doesn't get a boost.
Edited by John Wickett on 31 March 2023 at 5:04pm
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