Donald Trump will likely be a prisoner of the U.S. legal system for the foreseeable future, and he has clearly decided he'd rather be wrapped up in electoral proceedings than criminal ones.
Trump and his campaign lawyers appear to be mounting a full court press in any state where Trump doesn't like what's happening with the vote tallies, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and even Georgia (abruptly added on Wednesday night as his margins started eroding).
Stop the counts! But continue them in Arizona (where Trump is behind)! But also do and don't stop the count in Michigan, where Biden has now won and halting the tally would render him the victor. It's a both/and situation. Oh, and recount those Wisconsin votes! Anyway, details-schmetails! You get the idea: Trumper doesn't like where things are headed, and he's throwing as many lawsuits as he can dream up at the whole thing and hoping something might stick. In fact, let's head straight to the Supreme Court (which isn't how it works) and just get those pesky ballots thrown out (burn the ballots!).
Right-o. But then again, why not? Because all the legal matters Trump is facing if he's ousted are going to be far less pleasant for him. There's the tax matters and the defamation suits and whatever happened to those campaign finance violations. Plus, the investigations are coming from all directions—Congress, the New York Attorney General, the Manhattan D.A., private lawsuits, etc. And as a bonus, many of Trump's associates continue to draw scrutiny, such as former campaign adviser and White House aide Steve Bannon and current personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. What could go wrong with Rudy in the mix?
Anyway, Donald Trump has a litigation coming down the pike, and these lawsuits may be his last hurrah while he still has a campaign, the U.S. government, and taxpayer dollars to do his bidding. Those resources appear to be in dwindling supply for Trump.
But don't be surprised to see him quickly announce a bid for 2024. The New York Times reports, "For months, as his chances of being re-elected dwindled, Mr. Trump told advisers—sometimes joking, sometimes not—that should he lose he would promptly announce that he was running again in 2024. Two advisers said they anticipate he will make good on that declaration if his legal challenges fail and is defeated, a move that if nothing else would allow him to raise money to finance the rallies that sustain him."
Trump may still be on the grift if he loses, but at least—it appears—he won't have the U.S. government at his disposal to use as a shield.
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