JONATHAN TURLEY 3/27/2023
Below is my column in the Hill on why Trump’s future may come down to the calendar rather than the evidence. This could get pretty twisted in the election season.
Here is the column:
Donald Trump was back in all caps this week, denouncing prosecutors, warning of “death and destruction” if he is arrested, and even posting a picture wielding a baseball bat menacingly near a headshot of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
After each tirade, many of us denounced the inflammatory rhetoric while others insisted the former president was becoming unhinged at the prospect of being arrested. As if to speed along that decline, others posted viral fake AI-generated pictures showing Trump being arrested. Then Trump shared his own AI-generated photo of praying.
The fact is that Trump is in his element: In the land of rage, the most enraged man is king.
If you surf cable shows, you will see pundits in virtual ecstasy as they prepare for the possibility of a Trump mug shot or perp walk. The level of excitement could prompt Pornhub to do its first live courthouse feed.
The end-is-near predictions may be more of a fetish than a fact, however. A new Harvard/Harris poll shows 59 percent of Americans think the indictment is politically motivated, and 67 percent think the Trump payment in question was a personal expense.
Some liberal legal analysts have denounced Attorney General Merrick Garland for not expediting criminal charges against Trump with “the 2024 election cycle” in mind. If that is the measure, Trump just might have a winning hand — regardless of what occurs in these cases.
Many analysts have already addressed the dubious legal basis of the reported Manhattan indictment. The Georgia investigation into election violations is stronger, but that is not saying much; absent new evidence, the case appears to rest on highly challengeable elements.
More:
https://jonathanturley.org/2023/03/27/could-trump-win-by-losing-sometimes-nothing-is-a-real-cool-hand/
