First things first. An indictment isn't a guilty verdict. An indictment is a decision that simply means the grand jury has found sufficient evidence for a suspect to be charged and tried for a crime. When someone is indicted he, or she remains innocent until proven guilty by prosecutors and a trial jury. That jury is completely separate from the jury which issued the indictment.
In short, all the liberals out there need to keep the cork on the champagne bottle and the party balloons in the closet. At least for now. Donald Trump has yet to be convicted of anything in the federal legal system. He is, at the moment, an innocent man.
How long that will last remains to be seen. Mainly because Donald J. Trump himself won't keep his mouth shut He continues to behave like some teenage punk who has gamed the juvenile court system his whole life and doesn't realize he is now being tried as an adult. The days of bragging about your shoplifting sprees and crude acts of vandalism don't help your cred anymore. That's right, no more slaps on the wrist, Donnie boy. You could be headed to a place where the only luxury is getting to shower once a week and possession of a cell phone is just another criminal offense.
Charges in the indictment include, Willful retention of national defense information, Conspiracy to obstruct justice, and Concealing a document in a federal investigation. There are four more counts and they all came about because the former president repeatedly claimed the documents were his, or were magically declassified by his thoughts, then, finally, was taped saying he knew they were classified, but he'd kept them anyway.
All of that, after he and his legal team had signed a statement, swearing every last one of the sensitive papers had been turned over to the national archives.
Indeed, it appears The Big Orange Guy's hubris is so profound he simply cannot fathom that he, like the rest of us, is subject to the rule of law. This arrogance has, in fact, rendered him into a complete imbecile. If Bugs Bunny was around his only comment about Donald Trump would be, "What an ultra maroon."
Trump and several republicans, including House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy blame the charges on Joe Biden and his administration. In Trump's own words, "it's election interference." Oklahoma congressman, Josh Brecheen claims Trump was indicted because the latest polls show him in the lead. Even presidential opponent Mike Pence, who thanks to Trump nearly got lynched, said the democrats have politicized the DOJ.
Meanwhile, as everyone should know, you can run for president while being indicted, tried, or even a jail. It does put a crimp in the campaign---they don't let you hold rallies in the exercise yard--but it has been done before. In 1920 socialist candidate, Eugene V. Debs ran while serving time for sedition, Despite the limitations he pulled in 3.4% of the popular vote that year.
Of course the election is still over a year off and The Donald's first priority remains getting nominated. Luckily for him the GOP field is growing almost daily. They all make noise, but none of them, including Ron DeSantis, have the twisted charisma of Don Trump. Many won't survive Iowa and more will be gone after New Hampshire. Most importantly, not a man, or woman among them commands the blind loyalty Trump does. The truth is the guy could be sentenced to life without parole and still get at least 30% of republicans to vote for him. Chris Christie might be able to savage Donald Trump, but he can't beat him.
Well, as the Magic Eight Ball sometimes says," It will soon be revealed." Until then, Donald Trump would be well advised to tread lightly. Federal judges are a notoriously ill-tempered bunch with little tolerance for bombastic chicanery and Roy Cohn's strategy of endless delays. As Cohn knew, you can pull that shit on a poor construction contractor with limited funds, but the government owns the printing presses. They never run out of money when they come after you.
Not to mention relying on the Aryan Brotherhood rather than the Secret Service for protection in the joint is always a tad dicey.
6-9-23
Trump is the Grand Master of delay and stall, hide behind money and his supporters. I would not be surprised if these indictments are a long time coming to trial and even a longer time before a verdict is announced and sentenced if found guilty. Someday he, like all of us, will be judged in a more majestic court. If he is guilty of what many believe he is guilty of, that is the court to be concerned about.
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