The Washington Post revealed that it isn’t just state prosecutors like Alvin Bragg who are determined to find something, anything, to use to convict Donald Trump, it is federal prosecutors too. The Post story also makes it clear that not only are the gloves off, so is any pretense of rationality.
The federal prosecutors still looking for ways to claim Trump was trying to mount an “insurrection” on January 6, 2021 have now begun seeking documents related to his fundraising after the 2020 election. Somebody apparently had a brilliant idea: “Hey! The news media keeps saying that Trump’s claims that the election was stolen are “baseless,” so why can’t we say that Trump or scammed donors by using false claims about voter fraud to raise money?” So that’s the latest Hail Mary. It might be the most ridiculous and dishonest yet.
This latest “Get Trump!” miasma focuses on money raised during the period between Nov. 3, 2020, and the end of Trump’s time in office on Jan. 20, 2021, with prosecutors looking at whether anyone associated with the fundraising operation violated the wire fraud laws, which make it illegal to make false representations over email to swindle people. The Post’s anonymous (of course!) sources say that special counsel Jack Smith’s office has sent subpoenas to Trump advisers and former campaign aides, Republican operatives and other consultants involved in the 2020 presidential campaign, some of these figures have already testified in front of a Washington grand jury. The idea, apparently, is to find communications proving that Trump, his allies allies and advisers were privately admitting that Biden’s election was beyond reproach, while stirring up passionate supporters with appeals using the voter-fraud claims to generate more than $200 million in donations.
Please. Seriously? We are now going to use a fraudulent claims basis to prosecute political fundraising messages? THAT will work out well.
I’ve seen (and received) a lot of fundraising appeals for both parties. The allegations of what “the other party” and their candidates want, have done and plan on doing are usually stated in wildly exaggerated terms. Amounts of money picked out of the air must be raised by imaginary deadlines. The appeals are always made by figures who actually didn’t write the appeal and almost certainly never saw it before their names were “signed.” “There are only 48 hours left — so I’ll be blunt: If we get blown out on this first quarterly fundraising deadline, President Obama’s agenda is toast,” then DCCC Finance Director Missy Kurek wrote in an email appeal in 2013. Will future Republican prosecutors try to call that kind of obvious nonsense mail fraud? Other donor-targeted messages since then have said that Trump colluded with Russia, and that he was preparing to eliminate democracy. Still more accuse the Republicans of plotting to eliminate women’s rights or criminalize homosexuality. GOP appeals say that Democrats are determined to appoint judges who will destroy the Bill of Rights. This is a genre, virtual red meat meals sent to potential donors who don’t need to be deceived into believing the other party is evil; they just need reminding.
Even if the “Get Trump” bloodhounds find smoking gun proof that some or many in the fundraising chain believed that the “stolen election” claim was bunk, that would still not rise to the level of wire fraud. Again, it is an attempt to criminalize politics.
And does anyone doubt that Trump genuinely believed—and still believes— that he was cheated out of victory in 2020?
Never mind: as Trump embarks on a campaign for reelection while facing charges of falsifying business records in New York and a separate criminal investigation in Georgia, anything goes, even if it is desperate, dangerous, and if successful, one more nail in democracy’s coffin. The goal is to stop Donald Trump from running, and anything else is acceptable collateral damage.
Ethics Alarms 
Since when did the Dems and most of their mouthpieces gave a crap about the country or its future. Obviously this is about giving Trump just enough boost among the GOP voters to ensure he wins the nomination because they know he won’t win the general elections, especially with all the measures they have shoved through in many states, especially key swing states, to “shore up” our democracy (default mail-in voting, ballot harvesting, loose voter validation, etc.). It’s very cynical, but unfortunately will work, just like it did in 2022 midterm elections (combined with GOP huge mistake in making abortion a major issue).
I agree with you that the plan is not to keep Trump from running, but to trick conservatives into rallying around him, and making him their candidate for the general election. Once that happens, if they can take him out through lawfare, great, if not, almost as good.
To that end, the more overt the perversion of the justice system, the better. They want to be seen doing unjust things to Trump. They might keep a legitimate prosecution in their back pocket for a “killing blow” during the general election, but right now it works better if the attempts are outrageous.
As then-Senator Reid said after the 2012 election, when asked about him lying about Romney’s tax records at a critical juncture just before the election, “We won, didn’t we?”
I think the left must want Trump re-elected. I cannot see any other possible outcome arising from this sort of behavior. At this rate, Trump could pull a Biden, campaign from his basement and skate to reelection on the strength of leftist stupidity antagonizing the rest of the country.
It’s too bad Trump is too narcissistic, but imagine the boost he could give to a less polarizing candidate. If he told his faithful the only way to fight back is to support Desantis/whoever, he could help create a coalition between Trumpers and conservative never-Trumpers and independents tired of the constant “get Trump” drum beat. Sadly, that will never happen.
Has the statute of limitations for wire fraud run on Joe Biden’s stating “They want to put y’all back in chains?”
Wasn’t the whole first impeachment all about- using his office to go after a political rival.
We don’t need an Alexander Vindman to make claims that President Trump tried to get dirt on Biden through Zelenskyy it is in full view of the American people. The problem will be that for about 50% of the public this is perfectly acceptable when they do it to others but totally unacceptable if it is done to themselves. It is no different from than the looters getting mad when someone takes their shit. That is the mentality we are dealing with.
That wording of my comment didn’t come out right.
I meant that Biden’s surrogates in the executive branch (Garland, et al) are doing exactly what Trump was accused of doing – using the office to harm a rival. Yet, this is not seen by so many as a threat to Democracy.
It is (D) ifferent when they (D) o it.
This includes election denial and rioting.
Don’t believe for one second the leftists assertion they would love for Trump to be the GOP candidate for president in 2024. If that were remotely true they wouldn’t be expending so much time and money searching for some way to keep him from running.
The truth is they have an all abiding fear of Trump ans are willing to do whatever it takes, legal or illegal doesn’t matter, to prevent a new Trump presidency.
Remember when Hillary said: if Trump gets re elected we’re all going to go to jail.
“Remember when Hillary said: if Trump gets re elected we’re all going to go to jail.”
So if she, by this legal strategy’s logic, misled people with false claims (she DIDN’T go to jail, did she?) in order to scam them for campaign contributions . . . she could be prosecuted . . . and put in jail.
But then the claim would no longer be a false claim.
“No no, it all makes perfect sense. I’ve seen this legal argument work wonders in the past.” responded NY Associate DA Harcort Fenton Mudd.
–Dwayne
They are also doing their best to ensure that, if Trump is re-elected, he really will do his best to prosecute some of these folks.
That would be an upside to his re-election.