‘He’s Done’: Expert says Donald Trump Likely Can’t Escape Jail After a ‘Worst Day Ever’ String of Legal Blows
Yesterday was a terrible news day for Donald Trump. Headlines blared that the January 6 committee would be reconvening September
Ellie Mason
Yesterday was a terrible news day for Donald Trump.
Headlines blared that the January 6 committee would be reconvening September 28 (less than a week away), the New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit against Trump, his children, and the Trump Organization – and a judge overseeing the Mar-a-Lago documents case dealt his legal team a devastating blow.
One legal expert believes that Trump's goose is cooked, and it may be impossible to avoid jail at this point.
See: Donald Trump's January 6 'Indictment Problem' is Everyone's: Panel's Bombshell Endgame Report Could Change Everything We Know about Democracy
He’s Done: The Former President May Not Be Able to Escape Jail
Today, I filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump for engaging in years of financial fraud to enrich himself, his family, and the Trump Organization.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) September 21, 2022
There aren’t two sets of laws for people in this nation: former presidents must be held to the same standards as everyday Americans.
Trump's legal woes stacked up exponentially yesterday.
One expert says Trump's hope for another White House bid is over, per The Guardian: "The former US president has repeatedly hinted that he intends to run for the White House again in 2024. But the cascade of criminal, civil and congressional investigations could yet derail that bid.
'He’s done' said Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University, in Washington, who has accurately predicted every presidential election since 1984. 'He’s got too many burdens, too much baggage to be able to run again even presuming he escapes jail, he escapes bankruptcy. I’m not sure he’s going to escape jail.'”
Although many people are focused on the criminal liability Trump may face as a result of the January 6 probe or the Mar-a-Lago documents raid, this civil issue may sink his ship deeper than anything else. Because for Trump, it's peeling back the facade that gives him strength and revealing a vulnerable, far less wealthy, person underneath who used dishonesty for gain. That's exactly what Trump accuses his enemies of doing – and now he's finding himself painted with that same unflattering brush.
The Guardian adds, "Laurence Tribe, a constitutional law professor at Harvard University, noted that the civil component 'involves things of particular significance to Trump and his family and his organisation, namely their ability to defraud the public, to defraud banks, to defraud insurance companies, and to continue to subsist through corruption. Without all of that corruption, the entire Trump empire is involved in something like meltdown.'
Tribe added: 'Trump is probably more concerned with things of this kind than he is with having to wear an orange jumpsuit and maybe answer a criminal indictment … As a practical matter, this is probably going to cause more sleepless nights for Mr Trump than almost anything else.'”
Judge Rules Against Trump in Mar-a-Lago Documents Case
Of course, that doesn't mean that the Mar-a-Lago investigation isn't serious: it very much is.
Yesterday, the judge overseeing the Mar-a-Lago case dealt Trump's team a blow that could well mean jail time is nigh. The court says the Department of Justice can use documents seized in the FBI raid of Mar-a-Lago as part of their ongoing investigation.
Raw Story writes, "Former acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal suggested Trump's push for a special master backfired.
'The Court of Appeals ruling is not only a straight repudiation of every legal claim Trump has made since Mar a Lago searched, it's a boomerang,' Katyal wrote. 'Trump's legal args backfired-Ct powerfully explains why criminal and national security implications are so massive. Court just justified a prosecution.'
'It’s really hard to lose an appeal more decisively than Trump just did,' Katyal wrote. 'This criminal investigation now goes forward with the imprimatur and blessing of the US Court of Appeals, and their explanation of how important this investigation is.'"
And the White House ethics czar, Norm Eisen called it, "Donald Trump's worst day ever."
Trump is clearly desperate to deflect, last night speaking with Sean Hannity about the lawsuit and Mar-a-Lago raids. At one point, the former POTUS seemed confused and suggested that perhaps the FBI was looking for Hillary Clinton's famous deleted emails in his Florida residence. Even Hannity seemed taken aback, but it seemed to make sense to Trump.
Whether you think the civil lawsuit or potential criminal indictment could be worse for Trump (a man whose image is his most important asset), it's clear that this week is even worse than the last one. It begs the question: what does next week look like?