‘Get and Destroy Trump’: Donald Trump’s Terrible Week is Getting Worse by the Day
It's a no good very bad week for Donald Trump. The former President's week kicked off with a raid of
Ellie Mason
It's a no good very bad week for Donald Trump. The former President's week kicked off with a raid of his private residence in Mar-a-Lago by the FBI and hasn't gotten better from there.
Since then, the House has been granted access to his tax returns and he's been forced to sit in a court deposition for the New York Attorney General's investigation into his business dealings. A close ally had his phone seized by the FBI as well, and things just don't seem to be working in Trump's favor. Here's a look at all the things going wrong for Trump this week.
Mar-a-Lago Raid; Did Someone Flip on the Former President?
By now, most people are familiar with the news that broke late Monday about the Department of Justice raid on the former President's Florida home.
What they were looking for has been the source of great speculation across the political spectrum, but it likely has to do with records that Trump may have illegally removed from the White House and brought with him when he left office. Getting a search warrant approved against a former President has an extraordinarily high bar, so it seems likely that whatever Attorney General Merrick Garland's DOJ is investigating, they have compelling evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.
Now, the Trump team is turning inward, paranoid and disturbed, because they believe someone close to the President may have turned and revealed information to the DOJ about wrongdoings on the business mogul's home turf. Of course it should be mentioned that if nothing illegal was happening, this supposed mole would have nothing to spill.
Since then, Trump ally Pennsylvania Representative Scott Perry has had his phone seized by the FBI as well – but it may or may not be related to the FBI raid conducted Monday.
All-in-all it's a bad sign for the former President who's feeling the crunch from multiple criminal investigations closing in, and the House's panel investigating January 6 which is currently on hiatus but will reconvene next month.
Donald Trump Responds to Deposition in New York
New Yorkers can trust that I will work tirelessly to hold accountable elected officials who prioritize themselves over their constituents. It’s time to put an end to government corruption in our state.
— Tish James (@TishJames) August 8, 2022
And in New York, Trump has been compelled to sit for a deposition on an investigation into his business dealings at the head of the Trump Organization, from which he ostensibly divested himself when he took the office of president.
But things in the deposition got a little weird. Trump has previously explained that only guilty plead the fifth – which is to say refuse to answer questions to avoid incriminating themselves.
But then, the Trump pled the fifth. In part, Trump explained, "When your family, your company and all the people in your orbit have become the targets of an unfounded, politically motivated Witch Hunt supported by lawyers, prosecutors and the Fake News Media, you have no choice." It's an unusual stance for the frequently open-book President who often says too much and gets himself into trouble. Trump's lawyers must have impressed upon him the value of saying less, even if it makes him look guilty.
Trump also took to his social media platform, Truth Social, and spoke against the investigation by NYAG Letitia James. Trump wrote that James campaigned on a "get and destroy Trump" platform and that the entire investigation is both hostile and a collusion against the former President personally.
Unfortunately for the Trump team, as long as the investigation follows legal requirements and exposes an actual crime, it doesn't matter how they feel about each other.
But this week has gone from bad to worse for Trump and seems unlikely to improve any time soon. In another insulting legal slap during a nightmarish week, a federal court this week granted the House the right to view Trump's tax returns, which he has fought tooth and nail to keep private.
Searching for a mole, trying to stop the tax records from being released, fighting the New York court system, feeling the weight of the House panel's investigation, and worrying about the investigation into election interference in Georgia and other states – it's not a good week to be Donald Trump.