Suddenly millions richer
Trump wanted to be charged and wants revenge
By Roland Peters
06/15/2023, 8:24 p.m
Just don’t back down: Ex-US President Trump apparently ignored advice to seek an out-of-court settlement in the case of the secret documents. Instead, the prosecution brings him a lot of money. He is also said to have radical plans.
Fly to Miami, have your own lawyer plead not guilty, then shake hands and be sung about, give a drooling attack speech in New Jersey, all with the greatest public attention, reporting free of charge – and after a fundraiser dinner $ 2.1 million minus have more travel expenses in their accounts. That was Donald Trump’s Tuesday. Since the indictment became known last week, a total of $6.6 million in donations has flowed to him. The ex-president turns his problems into money.
The 77-year-old is now being charged by federal prosecutors for violating the anti-espionage law, allegations of false testimony and obstructing investigations; if convicted, it could mean imprisonment for life. But when one of his highly paid lawyers suggested last year that he settle with investigators out of court to avoid the threat, the ex-US president declined. This reported the Washington Post.
The idea presented was to offer full cooperation and return of the documents to the Ministry of Justice, which houses the prosecutor’s office, and “to lower the temperature,” as the lawyer is quoted as saying. He is said not to have been the only lawyer who urged Trump to be more cooperative. Trump had stashed boxes of documents, including intelligence information, from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago residence until the FBI raided them.
Aggressive Sacrifice
The ex-president’s motivation is debatable: First of all, he could actually see himself as right. Or, second, he’s not sure and takes his chances. Perhaps he knows only too well, third, that he was above the law, as the circumstantial evidence, and particularly the prosecution’s evidence, is almost clear; but sees a benefit in being prosecuted. The preparations for the court hearing can still drag on for a very long time. Trump is likely to exploit every detail of the primary campaign, possible 2024 campaign and even potential presidency.
In addition, it is part of the aggressive victimism of the Republicans to present themselves as persecuted conservatives of the Democrats and the government. The conservative mouthpiece “Fox News” even ran the line “Would-be dictator speaks in the White House after arresting his political rival” on Wednesday, while showing President Joe Biden and Trump at their speeches. Although the station changed the line again. But the polemical escalation is entirely in keeping with Trump’s rhetoric and that of his party wing.
In their world, the prosecution investigations and indictments are all politically motivated, the government and state institutions being used as a weapon in a campaign against all conservatives, of whom Trump is of course the noble champion. There’s even a designated committee in the House of Representatives that conducts public hearings on it. Trump’s lawyer said after the indictment that the Justice Department, which was being used as a “weapon”, wanted to inflict “maximum political damage” on his client.
It was Trump himself who, during his presidency, celebrated again and again for influencing the judiciary in particular in the interests of the conservatives. During his tenure, he filled a quarter of all federal judgeships and a third of the chief justices on the Supreme Court with conservative lawyers, who have since passed highly controversial judgments. The Justice Department and its chief of staff, William Barr, had to resist constant assaults from the White House as best they could.
Well after the indictment in Miami announced Trump, to want to get back at Biden if he wins the election and to use a special prosecutor against the Democrats “to pursue the most corrupt President in the history of the United States, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden family”. He will “completely destroy the deep state,” he tones.
Trump wants to make Justice Department docile
The conflict is actually part of the system, since the minister is also the chief prosecutor. However, he should act independently with his subordinate investigators, which currently includes the special counsel in the Trump case. Republicans claim that is not the case under Biden. A lot sounds like a playground, pointing fingers and a discussion about who actually started throwing the dirt.
According to the New York Times, Trump wants one in the event of a renewed presidency historical paradigm shift push through. He wants to make the Justice Department a department bound by directives like any other. Means: The White House should order investigations. In any case, for Trump, the presidency is an all-purpose weapon according to his ideas.
At the end of his first term, a few days before the January 6, 2021 uprising, Trump wanted to replace his minister, according to the New York Times. The designated successor should therefore help him to use a trick to change the election result in Georgia in his favor, which would have meant Trump was re-elected. However, the entire management level of the justice department threatened to resign – after which Trump refrained from the cabinet reshuffle. So the independence of the Justice Department got Trump where he is today.
Whether the ex-president will be able to implement the announced revenge for his election defeat according to his ideas also depends on how the trials against him will go. Also on when which charges will be added, in particular those relating to his role in the January 6th riot – also from the Justice Department – and attempted voter fraud in the state of Georgia.
Will any of this break his political neck? Trump is apparently certain that this will not happen. Polls among Republicans show that he has benefited from the attention so far, as does the millions of dollars that flowed into his accounts in just a few days because of the indictment in the case of the secret documents. This would not have happened with a quasi-guilty backroom deal. And in the election campaign for the presidency, the emotions will intensify.