News

The Political Persecution of President Trump Is Not Going to Make Trump or His Supporters Go Away or Accept the Outcome – Opinion

By Pluralist / August 15, 2022

The FBI performed an unprecedented act in American history a week ago. They carried out nine-hour, pre-dawn raids on the Mar-A-Lago estate belonging to President Donald Trump.

Since the raid, we’ve been treated to an ever-morphing series of excuses, none of them backed up by any official documents, that went from recovering presidential papers that should have been given to the National Archives and Records Administration to increasingly bizarre claims that President Trump had secret nuclear information (Startling New Report Indicates FBI Was Looking for Extremely Sensitive Documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago) and even payroll documents identifying US deep cover agents.

I’m not sure anyone believes any of this bullsh**. However, when one considers the complete picture of the ongoing investigation by the New York Attorney General and the ludicrous, over-the-top raid of Mar-A-Lago that may, for all we know, have included a sniffing session by an FBI agent in Melania’s underwear drawer, there is one conclusion. Trump could be running again for President. In this interview with Steve Gruber of Real America’s Voice, I think President Trump’s attorney, Alina Habba, hits the nail on the head.

The reaction by the NeverTrump side has been a pathetic attempt to spin this as a “no one is above the law” issue. Below is a quote by Kevin Williamson, National Review. He’s a good weathervane for cutting-edge NeverTrump commentary because he’s so brilliant.

Nearly two years ago, my friend Mike Ford took issue when Williams gratuitously insulted Trump, his family, and everyone who voted for him (see Opinion: Great Move NRO; Insult 75 MILLION Americans). Williamson fired back in a screed called Rage-Monkeys Gonna Rage, in which he called Mike–a West Point graduate, honor graduate of Ranger School, holder of a master’s degree, decorated combat veteran, and a retired infantry colonel–”Cletus” and “[s]ome illiterate jabroni over at RedState.” Mike’s response in Opinion: I Am Cletus is a classic.

If you don’t agree with the above, this is because Williamson can be more conservative and gifted than you.

If we truly believe (as we claim to believe), that this country is a republic that is subject to the law and that the presidency does not have any quasi-royal rights, then it is quite normal for the FBI to serve a warrant against a Florida home. For me, it isn’t difficult to believe that such a warrant exists. And if the feds have got it wrong, that wouldn’t be the first time. The so-called conservatives, who fantasize about an FBI purge in the next Republican administration’s future, are engaging in a very stupid type of irresponsibility.

No fewer than five congressional committees are equipped with oversight authority from the FBI. I’m not especially inclined to take federal agencies and their officers at their word in almost any circumstance, and so active and vigorous oversight seems to me appropriate here, as in most other cases. If Donald Trump does turn out to be a felon, it should not surprise me.

It would have been a great precedent if it was.

Jonah Goldberg naturally plays the role of either Edgar Bergen or Charlie McCarthy…I keep getting confused. He claims that, if anything is amiss in the Mar-A-Lago raid, then you’re un-American.

Here’s an easy thought experiment. Now imagine a Third World banana republic. A populist leader recently ousted in an allegedly “rigged” election is waiting in the wings, plotting a return to power. The current ruler sends armed agents of the state to search the ousted ruler’s home in the hope of discrediting his once and possibly future opponent, presumably to prevent him from ever threatening his rule.

According to Donald Trump and large sections of GOP members, this is exactly what occurred when Mar-a-Lago was searched by the FBI. “Such an assault could only take place in broken, Third-World countries,” Trump declared. “Sadly, America has now become one of those countries, corrupt at a level not seen before.” His son echoed the sentiment: “Biden’s out of control DOJ is ripping this country apart with how they’re openly targeting their political enemies. It’s what 3rd World Banana Republics see!!”

You will find similar declarations all around the internet.

But let’s return to the thought experiment: What happens next? According to the representatives of the ex-ruler, this betrayal to his dignity is actually an insult to all his backers. As Hugo Chavez’s followers or Daniel Ortega’s, they claim they will only be able to avenge this injustice and rid the government of its enemies if they return their leader in exile.*

That’s the argument raging like a religious awakening across much of the right this week. Once Trump announces he’s running for president, Mike Huckabee insists, “We need to rally around him and simply say, ‘He is the candidate.’ He will be re-elected. That’s because he’s the only candidate who’ll have the guts to take on this incredibly corrupt machine. Let him go and we must bring him back. I’m convinced at this point that this is the only hope for our nation, to get it back to the point where people can believe in it.”

This isn’t an argument against banana republic politics, it is banana republic politics. Let’s put aside any consideration of primaries or policy debates and simply anoint a strong man to redeem our nation, purge corruption, and punish our enemies.

I’ll put it plainly: If your “belief” in our country is so fragile and pathetic that you will lose “hope for our nation” unless Donald Trump is given free reign to cleanse the land of evildoers, then you don’t actually believe in this nation. If your love of country is contingent on your preferred faction being in power, you’ve confused partisanship for patriotism. All of the talk about a banana republic is not American if taken seriously.

On the other end of the spectrum, we have “it’s just another outrage driven by Trump.”

Goldberg and Williamson try to pretend what we’re seeing is some generic rule-of-law happening. It isn’t. It isn’t. If President Trump had sent the FBI to raid Eric Holder’s home looking for evidence of his complicity in the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, those two would have beshat themselves.

Current FBI actions are meant to prevent President Trump’s re-election bid. Everyone knows it, and they aren’t amused by the silly, puerile word games used to justify it.

Some weeks ago in regards to Trump’s likely prosecution by New York (The Left Is Anticipating President Trump’s Indictment in New York but They Haven’t Thought About What That Means to Everyone) I wrote:

Many years ago I sponsored a man who was converting from a Catholic to a Catholic faith. He wasn’t just any guy; he was a very senior CIA officer who has frequently appeared on television since he transitioned to think-tank denizen. Through the Rite of Christian Initiation as an Adult, (RCIA), sponsors and candidates form a relationship that goes far beyond just religious discussions. One occasion we spoke about politics and foreign policies.

He said that what separates the Third World from us in politics is the peaceful transfer of power through the ballot box and not by military intervention, and the unwritten principle that the victors don’t use the police power to punish those who are defeated. An individual who is not able to understand the first concept will never give up their office, even if it means they risk being jailed or put on the gallows. He stated that once politics becomes a blood sport there are no ways to stop it from becoming a dictatorship of people with guns. I’d never really looked at it that way and can’t, even today, disagree with him. Gerald Ford is owed a debt for his republic preservation by pardoning Richard Nixon.

…The left will think they have taught us a lesson, and they will be right. It will not be easy for the Republican next president to grab a similar Democrat job. To be on the safe side and make it hurt, he’ll probably have to take down several prominent Democrats. And the left will ‘wave the bloody shirt’ and demand retribution the next time they occupy the White House. It is not clear why any Republican, from either a Blue or Purple state, would want to run for president. What would he do if he was forced out of office and unable to pay his bills?

The NeverTrumpers made defending the FBI a risk factor to monkeypox (NTTAWWT). However, the pressure for payback is growing. Mar-A-Lago Raid will play a major role in the GOP’s election of a President not named Trump by 2024. Anothner will become the Russia Hoax. The pressure to exact vengeance from everyone involved in this persecution of President Trump will be enormous and irresistible (personally, I’d be in favor of firing every federal agent that participated even tangentially in the Russia Hoax investigation, the arrest of Roger Stone, the January 6 investigation, the search warrant served on Jeffrey Clark, as well as the Mar-A-Lago raid). Biden, Harris, Garland and Harris will all be impeached if they win the House or Senate. They will not be removed, but it is possible to equal the score.

From there I’m not sure where we go.

Contrary to Goldberg’s belief, nobody believes that former presidents are immune from the law. Except for Williamson and Goldberg, most people are smart enough know when it is criminal and political to prosecute.

I don’t know how we back away from this ledge, and as the days go by, I care less and less whether we do or we don’t. I don’t think I’m alone.

About Post Author

Pluralist

See author's posts

Tags:

You may also like

Follow Us