The Silver Lining of a Dubious Trump Prosecution

Clarity, at a price.

By
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Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

One of the hazards of writing a daily newsletter is that, as political events play out, you may find you’ve already made the point you’re most eager to make.

I’m inclined to spend a few thousand words explaining why I think indicting Donald Trump for l’affaire Stormy would be a legal and political fiasco. But I can’t.

I already wrote that column.

The “too long, didn’t read” version: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case relies on a questionable legal theory designed to boost a misdemeanor to a felony. Overcharging is unjust in any criminal prosecution but a reeeeeeally bad look in the case of a once and future president, when half the population is already predisposed for partisan reasons to view any charges skeptically.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Normb1442

    I don't see how Trump can improve on his 2020 showing, and more to the point I don't see why DeSantis seems to think that he can do so by acting even more outrageously than Trump. What Trump did in 2016 made sense -- he grabbed headlines by being outrageous. DeSantis already HAS the headlines. He should be tacking back to the center at every opportunity. That he's not means he's decided to compete with Trump for far right voters. I'm often told he's very smart. He sure isn't ACTING very smart.

    All of that said, there is one way Trump could win, and that's if the Democratic base stays home. The portion of that base which the Grumpy Old Men (GOM) of the TD comments pages like to think is most of the party actually are somewhat likely to do so, because Biden is tacking to the center and this pisses them off. The NEW Democratic base -- mainly female voters in the suburbs who see him as...well, what he is -- ain't going anywhere as long as Trump on the ballot.

    Sorry, GOMmies. No more tax cuts for you until 2028 at least.

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  2. Raincheck

    “ The last question a populist Republican eyeing higher office ever wants to have to answer is “Trump or the Constitution?””

    It doesn’t seem to me that this question has been difficult for the GOP. Barely seems to have caused a moment of reflection.

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  3. Avatar photo
    nefer.NN14

    In DeSantis' narrative, the problem is not a possible indictment for Trump but an ongoing plot by alleged boogey man Soros and the DA's office to victimize Americans. Four years of this guy? Not for me. If I want to see sleight of hand I'll go to a magic show.

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    1. D

      The efforts some are going to to paint him as the "back to normal" Republican just roll right off my back. He's doing a Trump impression whenever possible and seems genuinely excited by his authoritarian tendencies.

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  4. Dougrhon

    The charging of Trump on this idiotic and pointless unimportant charge is so stupid that I must conclude the goal is to help him defeat DeSantis, the candidate the Democrats fear. I hope it proves not to work out that way. DeSantis is going to need all the skill he can muster to avoid the many traps being set for him by both MAGA and the Democrats. (And their media cohorts)

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    1. Jim S

      So I will straight up say that this Democrat is rooting for Trump to win the GOP primary and I will be very disappointed if the Democratic leadership does not pull out all the stops to help make this happen.

      Ironically it is my year and a half here at Dispatch that has led me to this strange place. When I joined this site I was encouraged by the fact that there were Conservative folks who were as appalled by Trump as I was. At that time I viewed Trumpism as a philosophy uniquely tied to Trump himself. Ditch the man and the ‘philosophy’ ( what a generous word for it! ) would die with him.

      Sitting here in 2023 I see how wrong I was. The GOP seems dead set on promoting Trumpism with or without Trump at the helm. I think the fact that so called ‘normie’ Republicans backed Kevin McCarthy is strong evidence of this. Ditto the widespread support for the scorched earth illiberal tactics of Ron DeSantis. The attitude of many commenters around some of David’s more controversial French Press articles really sealed the deal for me. It was astonishing to see just how large a segment of the Conservative community seems to revel in Trump style cruelty, even in a David French forum!

      Anyway there it is. Consider your suspicion confirmed, at least as far as this Democrat is concerned.

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      1. Jfan

        You think Republicans are really the party of Trump? Those are fighting words. Real Republicans reject Trump, both of us.

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      2. D

        100% this.

        I've come around on Tom Nichols' stance that the whole party needs to be burned down and rebuilt.

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      3. Mwupton

        Imagine my horror, as a politically conservative Evangelical Christian, watching what has become of my co-religionists. I watched as a good chunk of Christians viewed Trump as distasteful in the primaries, to a transactional bargain in the general, to a chosen champion upon election.

        The leadership of the church I attend is even tempered and puts theology above politics (and mostly leaves out politics). However, the churches of others close to me are bled through with Christian nationalism. Trump is center figure in a proxy-war between Good and Evil, and not on the side you would expect if he was described in vacuum 10 years ago. So-called "prophets" declare the election is illegitimate, but God will soon overthrow the corrupt regime and reinstate Trump. It's enough to drive a Baptist to drink.

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      4. Joe

        Trump winning the nomination further normalizes Trump and Trumpism, just as Biden's 2016 win normalized political violence and the extreme left wing on social issues. With Biden campaigning on a 25% tax rate on unrealized gains we'd be normalizing yet more extremism by re-electing him. We need someone acceptable to win the GOP nomination and then beat Biden in a landslide. The crazies, all of them, need to be sent packing. The narrative should be that the crazies of the far-left, who now control not just the White House but institutions (the "establishment" is openly crazy and revolutionary), only won because of how bad Trump is and that the country does not agree with them. Anything short of that is bad for the country and the world.

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        1. D

          Liberals annoy me too dude but this is massive false equivalence.

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          1. Joe

            Joe Biden committed treason and tax fraud. The evidence is on the freaking laptop. Also, the Democrat agenda is majorly insane. They don't even pretend to be in favor of a meritocracy anymore. There's their Big Lie, transgenderism, that is more egregious than any of Trump's. I won't vote for Trump but that doesn't mean the Democrats are any good. They're actually worse!

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        2. Jim S

          At this point it appears that ALL the declared GOP candidates support Trumpism so I am not sure it matters one whit which of them is elected.

          At least Trump is a known quantity and another defeat would be another nail in the Trumpism coffin. I suspect that even that would fall short. It is starting to look like Donald Trump has succeeded in corrupting Republicans root and branch.

          You want to codify Trumpism for the next 20 years? To make it indistinguishable from Republicanism for all time? Elect DeSantis.

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      5. GoldenRuleLover

        You might be more gratified with the content of the Bulwark. They are more in the ‘burn the party to the ground and start over’ camp which is where I also find myself.

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        1. Jim S

          I do read some public facing stuff there, much of it quite engaging.

          As regards the Dispatch, you are probably right. In the end this is a conservative site which inevitability becomes a Republican site when elections roll around. And I will be the first to admit that the more partisan the discussions become, the more coarse and strident my own posts become.

          You know what I would really love? To feel safe disregarding politics altogether and never go near a comment board again. We are definitely not headed that way in this country.

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          1. Meggymish

            That last bit, about The Dispatch becoming a party-first platform as soon as elections roll around, is not fair or true. Witness Steve and Jonah bailing out of Fox when that idiotic BS from Tucker came out, Patriot Purge or whatever it was called. Also see the way all the writers at The Dispatch stayed true to their Never Trump guns through the primaries and after in 2016 and even 2020.

            On a personal level, I've never voted for Trump and I never will. He is not only an immoral, unethical, raging, narcissistic lunatic, he encourages others to be the same. I feel pretty safe in assuming that the majority of Dispatch subscribers feel the same way. If only the Trump base could see their hero's sins and foibles as clearly as they see the sins and foibles of the other GOP or Dem candidates. If only. But they don't, and they won't.

            I have friends who are otherwise intelligent and personally virtuous who will not even read a basic fact check that contradicts their own previously held views (because they previously saw that steaming pile of dog droppings, 2000 Mules, and that confirmed their previous previously held views on rigged elections and so forth). They are glued in to the crazy media ecosystem that tells them everyone else is lying, evil, or insane, or all of that, and they will not let anything else, like facts, penetrate their minds. That would be too uncomfortable.

            They say now that they're tired of Trump because of the endless drama, but they still believe he was robbed. Or if not robbed, that the election was unfair because of all the changes to election rules brought about by Covid. Which they think was fake, or exaggerated, or used strictly as a tool of oppression.

            Oh, and they think Ukraine gets a "blank check," and we shouldn't be involved because, and I quote, "they have Nazis and Russians there." Which means they should surrender to Russia because reasons. I've got news for them about which countries have Nazis and Russians in them...it's not just Ukraine.

            In short, the Trumpy base is insular. But it's not the majority of the party. Last time Trump won the primaries, it was because the rest of the field was too large and the egos of certain candidates wouldn't let them drop out so that someone could beat him. Kasich, for instance. This time, there's still a plurality who buy the garbage Trump is still selling, but hopefully (like Nick, I have to hope) there will be more sense among his primary opponents and people will drop out sooner so that voters consolidate behind...literally anyone but Trump. I'll stop now, but I could go on and on about this for many thousands more words.

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  5. Avatar photo
    Bel

    Our morality has come to the point where Gary Hart was ousted from the Dem Primary for "Monkey Business" while Trump boasts of grabbing women's parts. Now the morality thing can be overdone. I would much rather have philanderer Warren Harding or divorced Reagan in office than the guy who appears to be a great family man, Obama. I want my President to be an effective conservative executive, not to raise my children. But the fact that I would never leave my 20 something daughter alone with Trump (something not feared with Obama) is something different than an affair.

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  6. Avatar photo
    Kbroot

    Thank you for writing what at least some of us are thinking. Agree.

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  7. Sjsarich

    Wow, Nick your paintbrush is as broad as Stacey Abrams. Assuming 100% of TD subscribers are NeverTrumpers is quite the stretch. While Trump’s antics have become tiresome a balanced reader may also assume the Establishment on both sides of the aisle have been relentless in the pursuit of him.
    The Russia/Steele dossier hoax started the ball rolling. And it’s been all downhill since.
    Nick, I subscribe to the Sunday NY Times, which now employs insufferable David French. I do that to see what the “enemy” is calling news as propaganda.
    If you & the rest of TD’s roster of opinion makers think 100% of your readers tow the TDS lock, stock & barrel you’re as shallow as any of the harpies on The View!

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    1. Hikingguy

      You don't have to read any post you don't want to. I much prefer reading David French to Righty drivel. Maybe that's just me.

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      1. Sjsarich

        My point was I read most everything TD posts. I wouldn’t subscribe if I didn’t. However, to ascribe TD’s visceral hate for all things Trump to 100% of its readers is naive. To this day I still read David French in the NYTimes even though I disagree with a fair amount of his opinions.
        Yes, we can read whatever piques our interests but because we read what challenges us doesn’t mean out of similar beliefs of what’s being posited.
        That too is just me being me.

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    2. Paul in NC

      Well, you certainly have the Trump-cult lingo down. Look at the totality of the trouble that Donald Trump has caused this country. Has it occurred to you that the reason people are continually coming after Trump is because Donald Trump is a criminal who continually commits crimes? Republicans need to face the hard fact that they have been played, and continue to be played, by an obvious con man.

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      1. Sjsarich

        How’s your 401K doing? Like the gas prices you’re paying? Inflation just a number to you? Utility bills just another number?
        As with all TDS adherents your lingo is in lockstep with NeverTrumpers.
        Please enumerate the continuing crimes being committed & the damage Trump has done to the country.
        I’m assuming a totally discredited Russia/Steele dossier was a “…justify the means,” ploy necessary to stop this “criminal!” Yes, J6 was abominable. Let’s have a complete vetting of what took place & let the chips fall where they may.
        And even Barney Frank of Dodd/Frank fame said the current banking meltdown had nothing to do with easing restrictions that even Frank himself lobbied for. But then again the bipartisan easing of those restrictions fall completely on the “criminal” Trump.

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        1. D

          1. We've handled post-covid economic issues better than most of the Western world. I'm not a leftist but attacking Biden for the entire West's economic issue when he's handled them better than most is pretty weird.

          2. Trump's moral failings were obvious the day he announced in 2015. His criminal failings were clear if not before November 2020 then certainly after. Anyone who defends him now cannot be taken seriously, which unfortunately is a large majority of my former party.

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        2. Paul in NC

          If you really need Trump’s crimes enumerated for you, just turn to any coverage besides what’s on Fox News.

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          1. Sjsarich

            Joy Reid? Nicolle Wallace? Don Lemon?
            You made the accusation. You must have them at your fingertips.

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  8. R. James

    Given that even the writer of the article believes that the charges are "unjust", I don't know how he thinks clarity will come out of any of this looming mess.

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  9. Paul in NC

    I agree that the country needs clarity on the current state of the Republican Party. While the insurrection on January 6, 2021 was the most infuriating thing I think I've ever witnessed, it gave clarity to what the GOP had become, which is a full-on personality cult with cult members willing to put their lives and freedom on-the-line because a reality TV buffoon told them to. Even more clarity came when Kevin McCarthy went to Mar a Lago in order to grovel to the man he had just finished excoriating for inciting insurrection and putting everyone in Congress at risk because the cult-base decided to stay with Trump. This told me all I needed to know about the Republican leadership, as well as the remaining rank-and-file in the party. They are all unsupportable, phony patriots.

    For all of their bluster about "national divorce" or even civil war, I don't believe that the Trump cult will actually do anything. Protesting is work. Rioting is work. Insurrection is work. Much easier to whine and cry from behind a keyboard while watching Fox News. At any rate, if Trump's cult did somehow "rise up and fight", they would be put down in a day because law enforcement will be ready this time. Part of me kind of hopes it happens this way. Better to know with 100% clarity who the real enemy is.

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    1. Dougrhon

      The greatest thing in the world would be for Trump to call for massive protests and few show up.

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  10. Avatar photo
    Logical

    I am pulling up a post burried a few levels below.

    A few commenters have been hounding PatRiot for a while and getting too personal. He/she is a big avatar (boy?) and can take care of it on his own. However, I offered my support to him with the following (edited):

    PR,
    The TD readership has a substantial MAGA tinge. Not exactly Breitbarty but more like NR. They are afraid to hear what you say. Hence the personal attacks. Remember, it's their "collective wisdom" that resulted in Trump and Trumpism. It's obvious they want all the trimmings of MAGA without Trump.

    By "they," I mean the TD writers as well as the bulk of the commenters. Goldberg is the prototypical pundit who can't see his own role (however miniscule) in the evolution of GOP to the current mess.

    A color scale:
    ....
    ...
    Federalist: Deep Pulsating Red
    Breitbart: Bright Red
    NR: Red
    TD: Purplish Red
    Bulwark: Purple
    ....
    ....

    Hang in there PR. It's a tough fight.

    If a dozen commenters like you leave TD, this board will resemble Breitbart in a month.

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    1. Raymondbrosterhous

      And if that dozen commenters had their way, this board would resemble the Nation or the Daily Kos in a month. So yes, heaven forbid that this center right website might lose the handful of liberal trolls who attempt to dominate these comment boards. Some perspective please.

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        Normb1442

        Hey, I paid my $10. I can say anything I want to.

        I'll open with trying to define mass readership in terms of color tones is a losing proposition.

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    2. Avatar photo
      JohnM.

      Oh, please. He has a well-deserved reputation here for posting exaggerations and out and out falsehoods. So much so that he has been spanked publicly by Jonah G., David F., Kevin W. and Declan G. That has to be some kind of record, and not one to be proud of. There are plenty of left of center commenters here who don't mislead or post hyperbole, and they're doing just fine. You might consider joining them.

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      1. Avatar photo
        Logical

        I don't know the said take downs. But it doesn't prove anything. They are not guardians of truth. For pete sake, JG and KDW make their living off of polemics. I had a long sequence with JG once on how he helped himself with birtherism. After some back and forth, he admitted "misreading Obama."

        You get personal and name calling. That's typical NR/Breitbart.

        I have been on this board for three years. Known PR's approach well.
        I had never seen him initiate a personal insult. He worked quite hard in the early days to clean up hecklers. You are a heckler.

        His observations are often correct and usually are quite "in your face" if one is emotionally invested in the right-wing causes. If you can offer a counter argument, do so.

        Why get personal ? There's a scroll past available on your device.

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        1. Raymondbrosterhous

          Yes, just in comments on this piece I’ve seen descriptions like “civic ménace, “right wing thugs”, and “hooligans.” Typical conservative name-calling. . . . Oh, wait!

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        2. Avatar photo
          JohnM.

          I'll stand with the Dispatch writers concerning his truthfulness here.

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