Former Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) said in a recent interview that he is worried about the upcoming presidential election because former President Trump “learned” the political system’s weaknesses in 2020.
“The problem is now, Trump and the Trump-type folks have learned where the weaknesses are in the system,” Kinzinger said on The Bulwark podcast on Tuesday.
Respectfully, I disagree. I don’t think you understand what he’s facing in NY and Georgia.
The former is a state civil matter, and the Trump Org is already in the process of being sold off in its entirety. The remaining proceedings are for punitive damages, i.e. money he has to pay for fucking around. It’s already happening, and cutting him off from his Org means he will have to rely solely on donations to operate. While he does get millions from that grift, it’s not a bottomless stream of cash, running a campaign and fighting/losing legal battles is expensive, and he no longer has other assets he can leverage.
In Georgia, he’s facing RICO charges from laws designed to take down mob bosses and their associates, and these are State charges. He can’t presidential-pardon himself out of them. Unless Judge McAfee throws him a gigantic bone (and he’s basically shown so far that he’s a no-nonsense, rule-of-law judge), or Kempf pardons him (which he’s given no indication that he wants to), Trump and others will very likely go to prison. It’s not happening quickly enough for the public, but it’s not likely either of these proceedings will drag on, either.
I understand the urge to just give up, but it’s a little early to throw in the towel.
I’m not throwing in the towel I’m just looking at the facts of what happens to rich white men in this country. He has found a way out of everything. People have been saying he’s goong to prison since 2016. They don’t call him Teflon don for nothing. I hope to see him pay for his crimes but I think it’s more likely he cheats to become president again and then it will all just go away. He also has the backing of the supreme Court and the Dems have a really hard time holding seats in Congress because we aren’t playing a fair game.
Yes, and I get all of that, but he’s “Teflon Don,” because his modus operandi was to make somebody else do his dirty work; he could claim plausible deniability.
He royally fucked up in Georgia, because not only was it him that made the call (because arguably, it couldn’t have been anyone else for his purposes), but Georgia is probably the worst state in the US to try to do what he did due to the power and breadth of their RICO laws.
And while I agree that the rich, white men among us often escape punishment, I do not think the facts of the case, the laws themselves, the judge he got, and his dollar store clown-show of a defense team can get him out this time. His goose is cooked.
I hope you are right and this time we can get a least some justice for all the damage and crimes he has done.
Georgia law only allows a pardon after your sentence is completed. So at least there’s that