Once again, former President Donald Trump has been indicted. And once again, blue America is asking a familiar question: Will this be the legal case that takes Trump out?
NBC News reports that Trump was indicted on seven charges as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into his handling of classified documents. We don’t know what the exact charges are yet, but based on the potential charges that have been discussed regarding Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, it’s more likely to end in a conviction than his previous indictment in New York for falsifying business records in order to pay hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Experts have made that prediction based what’s likely to be a simpler legal theory behind the charges.
Banking on convictions to eliminate the threat posed by Trump is shortsighted.
It is undoubtedly exciting to imagine Trump being held accountable for his misconduct. But placing any faith in these charges to definitively knock Trump out of politics is a bad idea. In fact, placing faith in any past or future indictment or investigation to do so is a potentially dangerous idea.
Banking on convictions to eliminate the threat posed by Trump is shortsighted. There are virtually no convictions that can bar Trump from winning office or acting as president, and he has a variety of tools available to either avoid being sentenced before taking office or pardoning himself upon taking office. A Trump victory remains plausible, and attention and energy should remain laser focused on mobilizing and making the electoral case against an authoritarian threat. Nobody is coming to save us — only we can protect ourselves.
The recurring liberal fantasy of what could be called “death by prosecutor” dates back to the beginning of the Trump presidency, with the hope that Trump’s ties to Russia could culminate in his demise. Establishment liberal media and a set of online activists were consumed with Trump’s ties to Russia…
Read the full article here