MAGA Fascists Argue That Trump Is Above The Law, Should Never Be Held Accountable

Update to The Party Of Trump Is A Criminal Enterprise Led By A Third-Rate Mafia ‘Don’ Trump:

I will reiterate what I have said many times before. The Party of Trump is a criminal enterprise led by a third-rate mafia “Don” Trump. They are all accomplices, co-conspirators and accessories who aid and abet his criminality and corruption. There is not a patriot among them. They put fealty to their “Dear Leader” above all else, including loyalty to their country and our national security, and their oaths of office to defend the Constitution. They reject the rule of law and are amoral. It is a betrayal of the faith of the American people in our constitutional government. They must all be held accountable.

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Following the announcement last week that the criminal grand jury in Manhattan has indicted Donald Trump, Trump’s party of criminals in Congress fell in line. Donald Trump indictment: senior Republicans rally behind former president:

Senior Republicans in Congress rallied behind former President Donald Trump after he was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury investigating hush money payments to a porn star, calling the charges a weaponization of the justice system by Democrats.

Republicans’ ferocious response to the indictment on Thursday reflected the grip Trump still holds on the party and many of its voters as he seeks a return to the White House in the 2024 election.

Kevin McCarthy, the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, said the indictment “weaponized our sacred system of justice” against Trump.

Elise Stefanik, another member of the Republican House leadership, called the indictment a “political witch hunt and a dark day for America”.

Rick Scott, a U.S. senator from Florida, called the indictment a “political vendetta against President Trump”, while fellow Republican Senator Ted Cruz from Texas called it “a catastrophic escalation in the weaponization of the justice system.”

I caught this interview by CNN’s Jessica Dean with SE Cupp discussing why a number of congressional Republicans have rallied to Trump’s defense and are outraged over his indictment. I have never been a fan of SE Krupp, but even a broken clock is correct twice as day, and her analysis here is spot on: “No one should care that these people are outraged by this indictment.”

The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank writes, The GOP response to Trump is one hell of an indictment:

It’s no surprise that House Republicans leaped to Donald Trump’s defense after news of his indictment broke late Thursday. What was striking, though, was how many elected GOP officials now sound like Trump.

“Political Persecution,” Trump alleged in his statement.

“Political persecution,” parroted Reps. Diana Harshbarger (Tenn.), Josh Brecheen (Okla.), Claudia Tenney (N.Y.), and Paul Gosar (Ariz.).

“Blatant Election Interference,” Trump announced.

“This is unprecedented election interference,” echoed GOP conference chair Elise Stefanik (N.Y.).

“An attempt to interfere in our Presidential election,” echoed House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.).

“Witch hunt,” complained Trump.

“Witch hunt,” repeated Reps. George Santos (N.Y.), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Ralph Norman (S.C.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and more, including House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (Minn.).

“Weaponizing our justice system,” Trump inveighed.

“Weaponizing,” chorused Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Reps. David Rouzer (N.C.), Austin Scott (Ga.), Rich McCormick (Ga.) and more.

Trump blamed George Soros. Reps. Wesley Hunt (Tex.), Mike Johnson(La.), Harshbarger, Gosar and Sens. Rick Scott (Fla.) and Ron Johnson (Wis.) blamed Soros.

They aped Trump in other ways, too.

In their vulgarity:

“Enough of this witch hunt bulls—,” tweeted  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.)

“This is complete and utter bulls—,” asserted Rep. Brian Mast (Fla.).

In using ALL CAPS:

“WITCH HUNT!” screamed  Rep. Ronny Jackson (Tex.) and “Alvin Bragg is a NATIONAL EMBARRASSMENT.”

In demanding vengeance:

“Hunter Biden: Call your lawyers,” suggested Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.).

“The House of Representatives will hold Alvin Bragg and his unprecedented abuse of power to account,” declared McCarthy.

“When Trump wins, THESE PEOPLE WILL PAY!!” tweeted Jackson.

In voicing deep-state conspiracy theories:

“The Regime occupying our country and systematically killing America is most afraid of President Donald J. Trump,” warned Gosar.

And in stoking paranoia among the unstable:

If they can come for him, they can come for anyone,” tweeted Rep. Andy Biggs (Ariz.).

Of course, we hardly need reminders that Trump still dominates the GOP. Earlier this week, the House Administration Committee held a hearing where lawmakers and witnesses not only echoed Trump’s “big lie” from 2020 but alleged, without evidence, that there was “government voter suppression” followed by a “coverup” in a 2022 House race in Pennsylvania that Democrats won.

Still, the Republicans’ mimicry (conscious or unconscious) of Trump should put one thing into sharper focus. The debate about whether this helps or hurts Trump’s fight for the GOP nomination is beside the point. When it comes to any would-be Republican standard-bearer, the mantra is clear: We are all Trumpians now.

The Post’s Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman add, The unhinged GOP defense of Trump is the real ‘test’ for our democracy:

Because the indictment of a former president is unprecedented in U.S. history, it has become a media cliche to assert that the prosecution of Donald Trump will “test our democracy.” The oft-expressed idea is that if the public dismisses the new charges against Trump as banana republic-style political persecution, it would show democracy failing the “test.”

But this gets the story wrong. Declaring that the indictment is testing our democracy in this way doesn’t capture what makes this moment so fraught. If anything is posing a test, it’s largely the Republican response to it.

[M]any [Republicans] are taking the position that any charges against Trump (who has denied wrongdoing) should be seen as presumptively illegitimate no matter the counts against Trump or the facts that underlie them.

“It is beyond belief,” raged Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, that Bragg “has indicted a former President and current presidential candidate for pure political gain.”

The careful reader will note that Youngkin’s complaint is not simply that the indictment itself is flimsy. That is not what makes the charges “political.” Rather, it’s that Trump was indicted at all.

Similarly, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) railed that the indictment has already “irreparably damaged our country” and “weaponized our sacred system of justice.” Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance called it“a direct assault” on tens of millions of Trump supporters. Another Republican called it “a threat to our Republic.” One conservative leader compared it to “old Soviet show trials.”

None of those claims is contingent on the charges against Trump ultimately proving weak. The argument is essentially that they constitute a mortal threat to the country simply by virtue of having been filed against Trump in the first place.

To be clear, the indictment itself might prove to be a weak case. Trump might be charged with falsifying business records, but to make that a felony, that falsification would have to conceal another crime. To fit that bill, prosecutors might try to classify the hush money payment as an improper campaign finance violation.

Some legal experts worry this constitutes a novel, untested legal theory. If the charges are weak, it might be reasonable to question the wisdom of the decision to bring them. On the other hand, there are reportedlymore than 30 counts against Trump, so there may be grave charges we don’t know about.

Either way, these GOP responses do not leave discernible room for the possibility that the charges may prove far more damning than Republicans expect. It’s hard to see Republicans ever retreating to an acknowledgment that the process should run its course, enabling the truth to prevail.

This context is what renders the notion that this poses a “test” to our democracy so impoverished. Here’s how a New York Times analysis frames the situation:

Will it be seen by many at home and abroad as victor’s justice akin to developing nations where former leaders are imprisoned by their successors? Or will it become a moment of reckoning, a sign that even someone who was once the most powerful person on the planet is not above the law?

But if the former is a real possibility, it’s largely because Republicans are making it more likely by casting the process as inherently illegitimate in advance. If this is not stated clearly and forthrightly, Republican agency is erased from the equation entirely.

Democrats, too, have a role to play here. If Trump is acquitted of these charges and any other ones, Democrats will have to reinforce the idea that the process rendered its verdict and that it must be respected. If the process is dubious, Democrats should absolutely say so.

Voters often take their cues from elites. The degree to which senior Republicans acknowledge that the law should be applied to Trump, just as it is to everyone else, will help shape how accepting voters, especially Republican ones, are of the outcome. Are you hearing any such acknowledgment?

Even worse, some elite right-wing media figures are hinting at violence. “People better be careful, and that’s all I’ll say about that,” snarled Fox News host Jesse Watters. His colleague Tucker Carlson warned that this is “probably not the best time to give up your AR-15s.”

The position implied here is that the price of social peace is absolute impunity for Trump. The insistence that Trump must be kept above the law — no matter his wrongdoing — courses through all these GOP responses. Media accounts should centralize this fact. This appalling civic conduct is itself a major story.

Yes, a prosecution of a president is unprecedented in the United States. But as a new Post piece demonstrates, many other advanced democracies — including Israel, Italy, France and South Korea — have seen prosecutions of former presidents and prime ministers, usually for various kinds of corruption.

It’s perfectly plausible that the charges against Trump prove damning, the process is handled with integrity and Trump is found guilty — and a large swath of voters cannot accept that as a legitimate reckoning, precisely because one of our major political parties refused to acknowledge it as such.

If so, that would constitute a truly glaring failure of our “test.” Unsettlingly, it may be the most likely outcome of all.