#620 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Wednesday March 29)
Good morning,
Donald Trump is still trying to hog the news. It is not enough that he sit patiently and await indictment. He is attempting to litigate the cases—not on the merits, but on the character and motivations of the prosecutors, all of whom are labeled as “vindictive” and “psychopaths.” He is shaping the news to be not so much about what he may have done than what his various prosecutions say about the prosecutors.
DID TRUMP DO IT?
One doesn’t need to be criminally prosecuted, much less convicted, to be a bad actor. We all know people whose bad behavior in their business or personal lives, or the way in which they treat others, show their colors. A meaningful number of Americans see Mr. Trump as the huckster, misogynist, racist and danger that he is. They also see his behaviors as divisive and incendiary, concerned more with his ongoing publicity machine and personal aggrandizement than with any meaningful attempt to “make America great again” with policies that offer a clear blueprint for the future. Here are a few litmus tests one can use to assess Mr. Trump’s fitness for office, danger to America, and mental state:
Did he did not do many of the acts for which he is accused?
Would you want your children to emulate his behavior(s)?
Would you enter into a handshake deal with him?
Does his behavior encourage others to act poorly?
Has he been a net positive for America?
My hunch that most of you come out with “no” answers to many, if not all, of the above questions. Whether he is indicted or not for his many misdeeds does not determine his character or reflect on his negative effect on America. That judgment already has been made. Sadly, some 30% of the country presumably answers yes to the above questions and will vote for him, no matter what.
It doesn’t matter about those who won’t budge. They never will. Logical arguments fall on deaf ears. Their support is religious in fervor—and faith is a hard thing to overcome. Plus, they don’t want to be wrong. It’s hard to admit one was wrong, particularly if it was for a prolonged period of time.
Of course, Mr. Trump did most of the things of which he is accused. We’re not really debating the facts, many of which are on film and in the public record. The question is whether they rise to the level of crimes, whether there is a prima facie case to try and whether there is a jury that can be empaneled in these jurisdictions that might convict him.
IS THE PROSECUTION WORTH IT?
In most cases, yes it is. Many of Mr. Trump’s actions border on sedition. Many are morally reprehensible. If they constitute crimes, they should be prosecuted.
Some say the impeachments and prosecutions of Trump are “Trump derangement syndrome” or are part of a vast left-wing conspiracy to destroy the Republicans. Yet, as much as they didn’t like Reagan or George W. Bush, they didn’t impeach them. Let’s face it, Trump is sui generis.
Prosecutors have a responsibility to prosecute crimes not simply to punish those who committed them, but to put others on notice that, were they to act similarly, they will be prosecuted. It is important to make clear to the American people that certain behaviors are legally impermissible and possibly criminal and people will be held accountable.
LESS IS MORE
While Mr. Trump’s behaviors provide amble fodder for all sorts of prosecutions, one should be careful not to overreach, playing into the hands of his apologists. Stick with clear, simple, legal theories. There are plenty. In my opinion, the Stormy Daniels matter is not the sword to fall on. Delay, delay, delay and indict AFTER other indictments.
But if the Manhattan DA has any sense, he’ll concentrate on a tiny indictment—perhaps simply a misdemeanor. When someone enters into a plea bargain, one often accepts conviction of a “lesser included.” What this means is that they plead guilty to a lesser crime, which carries with a lesser consequence, often less prison time. The prosecutions in all of the Trump prosecutions probably should be guided by this principle. It would behoove them, and serve us, to go after Trump for the simplest, easiest to prove, wrongdoings.
It is best for all of us, including the beleaguered and maligned prosecutor, the likelihood of conviction, and our collective sanity, to simply charge him for the campaign finance misdemeanor and move on.
MORE TO COME
Of all the Trump prosecutions wending their way through the system, the Stormy Daniels hush money payment is the smallest transgression in the bunch. It is unfortunate it is the first that likely will result in an indictment. One would have hoped one of the more meaty felonies (like incitement to riot, trying to overturn a valid election, etc.) would be the first headlines. We will see more—sooner than you think. Mr. Trump will be in the news and will be busy on multiple fronts. While prosecutors can’t focus too much on what goes on in another jurisdiction, perhaps the Manhattan DA should be mindful of the “bigger fish to fry” that are coming and not go for the more inventive prosecutions he could pursue.
INCITEMENT
Mr. Trump may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he knows how to rile his audience. He and his right-wing media supporters have recast the various prosecutions away from the actual facts and transgressions, instead focusing on the motivations of the prosecutors, characterizing them as crazy and vindictive, and the entirety of the enterprise of holding him accountable as a conspiratorial witch hunt. For example, he describes Manhattan District Attorney Barnes as “a degenerate psychopath”
HIS CALL TO ACTION
“What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?”
He calls the Manhattan District Attorney an “animal.” He posted a picture of him with a baseball bat behind the DA. He said the DA is doing “the work of anarchists and the devil.” In the meantime, some of the Republican party’s leaders are on the airwaves defending these statements.
Who doesn’t think his prediction of death & destruction is a message to his more radical supporters to fulfill this prediction?
CLOSING THOUGHT FROM SALMAN RUSHDIE
As to whether Trump should be indicted for his crimes, even if the prospects of conviction may not be great and the distraction might be unbearable:
“…it matters, it always matters, to name rubbish as rubbish ... to do otherwise is to legitimize it.”
-- Salman Rushdie, "Outside The Whale" in Granta (1984)
Have a good day,
Glenn
From the archives: