Will Trump Ever Pay a Price?

[homersapien 11,385]

....and justice for all?

 

We all know what Trump’s defense will be. Maybe this time it won’t work.

 

by Mona Charen

February 18, 2021

 

The second impeachment acquittal of Donald Trump was more wrenching than the first, and the first was bad enough. Explaining his reasons for not calling witnesses in the first impeachment, Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, who had already announced his retirement, basically acknowledged the president’s guilt: “I don’t need to hear any more evidence to decide that the president did what he’s charged with doing.” He voted to acquit, though it’s worth recalling that the first impeachment was for an offense not too dissimilar to the second—attempting to manipulate the election by knee-capping his chief political rival with extorted dirt.

This year, there has been some cheering about the 10 House and seven Senate Republicans who voted for impeachment. It’s a record number of members of a president’s own party who have voted against him, we are told. All honor to those who took the difficult path.

But, good God! The president attempted to steal the election. He launched an insurrection against the Congress. He stood by as people lost their lives and as allies begged him to intervene. He enjoyed the spectacle. They had it coming, he tweeted at 6 p.m. on January 6. “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long.” That only a handful of Republicans could vote to convict him is a sign of deep rot.

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The second impeachment acquittal of Donald Trump was more wrenching than the first, and the first was bad enough. Explaining his reasons for not calling witnesses in the first impeachment, Republican Sen. Lamar Alexander, who had already announced his retirement, basically acknowledged the president’s guilt: “I don’t need to hear any more evidence to decide that the president did what he’s charged with doing.” He voted to acquit, though it’s worth recalling that the first impeachment was for an offense not too dissimilar to the second—attempting to manipulate the election by knee-capping his chief political rival with extorted dirt.

This year, there has been some cheering about the 10 House and seven Senate Republicans who voted for impeachment. It’s a record number of members of a president’s own party who have voted against him, we are told. All honor to those who took the difficult path.

But, good God! The president attempted to steal the election. He launched an insurrection against the Congress. He stood by as people lost their lives and as allies begged him to intervene. He enjoyed the spectacle. They had it coming, he tweeted at 6 p.m. on January 6. “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long.” That only a handful of Republicans could vote to convict him is a sign of deep rot.

It also leaves millions of Americans who thirst for justice unsatisfied. Few things are more maddening than the villain who goes unpunished. And so we look to other possible avenues of justice. As impeachment manager Ted Lieu pointed out, an acquittal means Trump can run again, and lose again,and claim fraud again, and incite violence again. Barring Trump from seeking any office would have been both morally satisfying and a necessary insurance policy against his further depravity.

But that opportunity is gone. Chances of a criminal indictment for incitement to riot are slim.

What else?

Throughout his tawdry business career, he stiffed creditors, evaded taxes, skated free of bankruptcies, and escaped punishment for discriminatory housing policies. While many public men paid harsh prices for their egregious maltreatment of women, Trump managed to avoid a MeToo reckoning as well. As president, he broke up families, obstructed justice, pardoned war criminals (and cronies whose silence benefited him), attempted to extort Ukraine into manufacturing dirt on his chief political rival, and then attempted to upend the electoral process that is the very heart of democracy.

Many are placing hopes in a Fulton County, Georgia district attorney who is investigating whether Trump’s call to Brad Raffensperger demanding that he “find” 11,780 votes was the crime of election fraud. New York’s attorney general is investigating Trump’s possibly deceptive manipulation of property values to avoid taxes, while the Manhattan district attorney is probing the Trump organizations’ “possibly extensive and protracted criminal conduct.”

Additionally, Trump could be the target of multiple civil cases arising from the events of January 6. The NAACP has filedsuit on behalf of Rep. Bennie Thompson against Trump and Rudy Giuliani alleging that they violated the Reconstruction-era Ku Klux Klan Act by conspiring with white supremacist groups to prevent members of Congress from executing their constitutional duties. The list of possible future plaintiffs includes the families of the seven people who died on January 6 or immediately thereafter, the 138 Capitol and D.C. metropolitan police officers who suffered broken ribs, lost fingers and eyes, and endured concussions, burns, heart attacks, and psychological injuries.

Even Mitch McConnell, after voting to acquit Trump on jurisdictional grounds, issued an unconcealed plea for some sort of accountability:

President Trump is still liable for everything he did while he was in office, as an ordinary citizen, unless the statute of limitations has run, still liable for everything he did while in office, didn’t get away with anything yet—yet.

We have a criminal justice system in this country. We have civil litigation. And former presidents are not immune from being held accountable by either one.

So far, the only institution that has been able to squeeze any accountability out of any of the liars on TV “news” has been the tort law system. Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic have extracted retractions from a number of right-wing TV outlets. It’s too bad that there is no tort remedy available for use against senators and House minority leaders who toldthe world that the election was stolen.

We need some sense that you cannot trample norms and laws with impunity. We need a sense that truth still matters, that justice is not an illusion, and that you cannot “get away with” causing the worst subversion of American democracy since the Civil War.

So godspeed to all the prosecutors, IRS officials, and lawyers who are assembling cases against Trump. Judges and juries are less likely to be conned than millions of voters.

We know in advance what Trumpworld will say about the coming legal tsunami. They will seize upon the favorite dodge of criminal office holders worldwide—political motivation. They will claim that every suit or indictment is part of the conspiracy against Trump and Trump followers. They will proclaim, as they have about the Mueller investigation, the dozens of women who’ve accused Trump of abuse and worse, and both impeachments, that they are fatally flawed because they’re “politically motivated.”

This is the off-the-shelf excuse for every corrupt politician, and Trump’s shelf appears to be unusually well stocked. Responding to the Georgia criminal inquiry, Trump staffer Jason Miller dismissed the investigation as “simply the Democrats’ latest attempt to score political points by continuing their witch hunt against President Trump, and everybody sees through it.”

What everyone should see through is this feeble talking point.

Rod Blagojevich, former governor of Illinois, gained fame for corruption that exceeded even Illinois standards (his predecessor also wound up in prison). In addition to trying to sell Barack Obama’s vacated senate seat, he shook down a children’s hospital and threatened the owners of the Chicago Tribune. What was Blagojevich’s excuse? He launched a (successful) lobbying campaign for a Trump pardon claiming that his prosecution was “unjust and politically motivated.”

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert did prison time for corruption. In his memoir, he blamed“right-wing extremist forces” and unnamed Jewish American billionaires for engineering his downfall. It was all “politically motivated.”

Former Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was convicted of charges of graft and money laundering. His explanation? “There was a pact between the judiciary and the media to remove us from power,” Lula told a rally of his supporters in 2018. “They couldn’t stand to see the poor rise up.”

In 1998, the American first lady appeared on morning television to tell the world that accusations that her husband had conducted an affair with an intern and then instructed her to lie about it were false and arose only due to a “vast, right-wing conspiracy.”

Rep. Duncan Hunter, who inherited his House seat from his father and was among the very first House members to endorse Trump, pleaded guilty to misuse of campaign funds for a variety of personal expenditures including family vacations to Italy, Hawaii, Phoenix, and Boise, school tuition, dental expenses, theater tickets, and domestic and international travel for almost a dozen relatives. There was tension with Mrs. Hunter when it was revealed that campaign funds were also devoted to romantic weekends in Lake Tahoe with individuals “14, 15, 16, 17, and 18.” Hunter described the investigation as a “politically-motivated witch hunt.” (Trump also pardoned Hunter.)

Rep. Chaka Fattah was sentenced to 10 years in prison for racketeering, bribery, and money laundering. He apparently used donor funds to pay down his son’s college tuition debt, and accepted an $18,000 bribe to help a friend secure an ambassadorial post. What did Fattah say about the investigation? Plenty. It was “unconstitutional” and “unlawful” and, yes, “politically motivated.”

Rep. William Jefferson was charged with bribery after FBI agents raided his home and found $90,000 in cash in his freezer. The bills were wrapped in aluminum foil and stuffed into frozen food boxes. While Jefferson didn’t claim political motivation, his followers did:

The Rev. Aubrey Wallace, a Baptist church assistant pastor in suburban Jefferson Parish, said the verdict doesn’t erode his belief in the ex-congressman’s innocence or his view that the prosecution was politically motivated. “We’re going to rally around him,” he said. “I’ll be a supporter until the last breath in my mouth.”

Trump is no longer shielded by the Justice Department policy against indicting sitting presidents. He is no longer able to claim separation of powers when Congress asks for documents. He is no longer able to put off the IRS audit. His criminal attempts to steal the election are fresh—it will be years before the statute of limitations would protect him.

So, yes, he and his followers will shout “political motivation” and “witch hunt,” but it rings tinny now, not just because it’s so flagrantly false, but also because it’s all they’ve got.

 

https://thebulwark.com/will-trump-finally-face-accountability/

[jj3jordan 2,053]

No crime. No price.

[aubiefifty 16,803]

not according to jj. he acts like trump is little jesus but i have faith many of his crimes will catch up with him.

[SaltyTiger 7,816]

20 hours ago, homersapien said:

Barring Trump from seeking any office would have been both morally satisfying and a necessary insurance policy against his further depravity.

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-cpac-orlando-day-3-trump-20210228-6jbsrxdnibfb3ibepm6ks7qvdq-story.html

Donald Trump strongly hinted to CPAC in Orlando on Sunday that he might run again for president in 2024

 

[homersapien 11,385]

39 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-cpac-orlando-day-3-trump-20210228-6jbsrxdnibfb3ibepm6ks7qvdq-story.html

Donald Trump strongly hinted to CPAC in Orlando on Sunday that he might run again for president in 2024

 

Is there any doubt? 

[SaltyTiger 7,816]

10 minutes ago, homersapien said:

Is there any doubt? 

Yep, I have doubts, but I had doubts that he would serve the full term when he was elected in 2016. Seems he really enjoyed being president. I liked that about Obama. He gave you the feeling he really enjoyed the job......Uncle Joe does not do that.

[homersapien 11,385]

8 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Yep, I have doubts, but I had doubts that he would serve the full term when he was elected in 2016. Seems he really enjoyed being president. I liked that about Obama. He gave you the feeling he really enjoyed the job......Uncle Joe does not do that.

I don't think Trump's narcissism will allow for him not to be the center of attention.

Regarding Biden, it's hard for me to imagine any (qualified) POTUS really "enjoying" the job with all of the problems on his plate, both nationally and internationally.  It's very depressing.

 

[SaltyTiger 7,816]

5 minutes ago, homersapien said:

I don't think Trump's narcissism will allow for him not to be the center of attention.

Regarding Biden, it's hard for me to imagine any (qualified) POTUS really "enjoying" the job with all of the problems on his plate, both nationally and internationally.  It's very depressing.

 

Well somebody has to do it and both Obama and Trump appeared to like the job. You could see when Obama was troubled but nothing near depressed. One thing I have always noticed concerning politics meaning down to level of city council or county commissioner. Once people are in they rarely want to relinquish the position. 

 

[jj3jordan 2,053]

14 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

not according to jj. he acts like trump is little jesus but i have faith many of his crimes will catch up with him.

Hardly a comparison to Jesus.  Sounds like you don’t know Him.

[aubiefifty 16,803]

10 hours ago, jj3jordan said:

Hardly a comparison to Jesus.  Sounds like you don’t know Him.

i never met trump so you would be right. when i tweak you jj i expect big things. come on jj make it epic next time. and try some humor.

[SaltyTiger 7,816]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

i never met trump

I know two people that have met him One very smart and pretty lady, one very successful businessman......both say he is a prince of gentleman

[aubiefifty 16,803]

Just now, SaltyTiger said:

I know two people that have met him One very smart and pretty lady, one very successful businessman......both say he is a prince of gentleman

he might be in person but come on salty a gentleman does not try to embarrass a handicapped reporter on world news. sorry. i am thankful he let some of the pot smokers out of prison. and yes i know that was a troll.

[SaltyTiger 7,816]

2 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

he might be in person but come on salty a gentleman does not try to embarrass a handicapped reporter on world news. sorry. i am thankful he let some of the pot smokers out of prison. and yes i know that was a troll.

Yes, it was a troll. I find retirement during a pandemic extremely boring when fishing is slow. For whatever reason it has been slow the past few days in the Auburn area. Ready to make a run down to the coast but have a few things in the works that will not let me get away.......mrs Salty wants me to get a job. Trying to help her clean house the other day and she told me I did not know how to dust. 

[aubiefifty 16,803]

7 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Yes, it was a troll. I find retirement during a pandemic extremely boring when fishing is slow. For whatever reason it has been slow the past few days in the Auburn area. Ready to make a run down to the coast but have a few things in the works that will not let me get away.......mrs Salty wants me to get a job. Trying to help her clean house the other day and she told me I did not know how to dust. 

i assume you know this but the fishing by lanette and west point ga has some lakes that they have tournies for fishing on at least once a year i know of and people drive from all over the country to fish there. we played the lanett holiday inn years ago when they had a big fishing tournament and the folks i talked to said it is really a big event. i think it is maybe an hour from auburn? check it out.

[jj3jordan 2,053]

4 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

i never met trump so you would be right. when i tweak you jj i expect big things. come on jj make it epic next time. and try some humor.

I was referencing the other guy.  If you had met Trump you probably would like him. 

[aubiefifty 16,803]

Just now, jj3jordan said:

I was referencing the other guy.  If you had met Trump you probably would like him. 

that is a big if but i never say never if i can help it.

[SaltyTiger 7,816]

1 hour ago, aubiefifty said:

i assume you know this but the fishing by lanette and west point ga has some lakes that they have tournies for fishing on at least once a year i know of and people drive from all over the country to fish there. we played the lanett holiday inn years ago when they had a big fishing tournament and the folks i talked to said it is really a big event. i think it is maybe an hour from auburn? check it out.

Was over there the other day just killing time but not fishing. I worked for a company from West Point right out of college. Fished that lake almost daily back then and it was a great lake. That area has changed little in forty years, still depressing. The old Holiday Inn is still standing. They used have a covered boat parking area with power for battery chargers. The restaurant used have a great salad bar and lunch buffett also.......BTW, I never intend on getting in another bass boat. I prefer surf, bank, wading, or john boat with electric motor. Does not matter how big the boat I am ready to get off of it after a few hours.  

[aubiefifty 16,803]

6 minutes ago, SaltyTiger said:

Was over there the other day just killing time but not fishing. I worked for a company from West Point right out of college. Fished that lake almost daily back then and it was a great lake. That area has changed little in forty years, still depressing. The old Holiday Inn is still standing. They used have a covered boat parking area with power for battery chargers. The restaurant used have a great salad bar and lunch buffett also.......BTW, I never intend on getting in another bass boat. I prefer surf, bank, wading, or john boat with electric motor. Does not matter how big the boat I am ready to get off of it after a few hours.  

the lounge there was called the buckskin lounge and many bights people were lined up all the way outside to get in. they said at the time only us and one other band could get that big a crowd. we were good but we had a female singer who sang better than i did at the time and she was blistering hot in the looks field. later some dude left the bar and had a wreck and killed himself and another one or two in the car he hit. they were getting sued so when they took up your cover charge they gave two old style movie tickets for drinks. no ticket no drink. people got fed up and i believe the bar shut down for a while. also if you know the area you might remember teens were committing  suicide at an alarming rate and it was all over the news. i hated their saturday nights because we played from eight until  one thirty because the ga folks closed an hour earlier and they would hit the bama bars. most nights by the time were through i could not talk. i remember no fights and the folks were really friendly. we played for the fsu folks during the big shootout we barely won. they were super nice back then. fun times.................

[SaltyTiger 7,816]

10 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

the lounge there was called the buckskin lounge and many bights people were lined up all the way outside to get in. they said at the time only us and one other band could get that big a crowd. we were good but we had a female singer who sang better than i did at the time and she was blistering hot in the looks field. later some dude left the bar and had a wreck and killed himself and another one or two in the car he hit. they were getting sued so when they took up your cover charge they gave two old style movie tickets for drinks. no ticket no drink. people got fed up and i believe the bar shut down for a while. also if you know the area you might remember teens were committing  suicide at an alarming rate and it was all over the news. i hated their saturday nights because we played from eight until  one thirty because the ga folks closed an hour earlier and they would hit the bama bars. most nights by the time were through i could not talk. i remember no fights and the folks were really friendly. we played for the fsu folks during the big shootout we barely won. they were super nice back then. fun times.................

Yep, I recall the Buckskin lounge now that you mention. Proud to say I was never involved with bar scene around there. When we ventured out we opted to drive to Auburn or one a few very good restaurants that was in the area. Also used to be the Moose Club on highway 29 out of West Point. They had the best Friday night catfish buffet I have ever tried. Speaking of the teens and other things, seems that there was and has continued to be a lot of "tragedy" in that area. Relatively small community for the amount of bad news and political corruption.