JACKHAMMERED — The Weekly Opine

This time the special counsel did not pull punches. (Photo credit Department of Justice)

This ain’t 5th Avenue

Like a pesky warm-up act that performs too long, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s indictment of Trump, over hush money payments TO A PORN STAR, now feels like a slight distraction. On April 4, when Bragg made his announcement, charging Trump with 34-counts related to falsifying business records, there was – by believers of law and order – a sigh of relief.

After all, we waited patiently for Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani “charges are imminent” Willis to do something. But it was Bragg who stepped up to provide temporary consolation, an appetizer if you will. Would Willis and the U.S. Department of Justice, both handling investigations tantamount to Michelin-quality entrees, soon follow?

Last Friday, June 9, when Special Counsel Jack Smith released a sledgehammer 37-count indictment, we received a super-sized platter of justice – with overwhelming proof of obstruction and conspiracy. With the indictment, Trump’s fantasy of getting away with shooting someone on 5th Avenue was laid to rest. Even Trump’s former henchman, the crooked ex-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr, went on TV and said, “If even half of [the indictment] is true, then he’s toast.”

One wonders what Trump’s residence at Mar-a-Lago looks like? (Photo credit Department of Justice)

On MSNBC last week, Rachel Maddow observed that Trump being indicted (twice already this year) was inevitable. For most of his adult life Trump has operated as a shady ‘businessman’ a.k.a. incorrigible crook, scamming people and largely escaping accountability. However, even with Trump the chickens eventually come home to roost. In Trump’s case it was later, much later, than it should’ve been, primarily because unpatriotic enablers in the Republican Party make disastrous choices, stacked one upon another.

For reasons I’ve previously outlined in this space (namely greed, craziness and/or racism), Republicans checked normalcy at the door and consciously made the decision to embrace Trump. GOPers and purported Christians went in headfirst, not only defending but embracing Trump. Republicans and fake evangelicals bear-hugged Trump as he lied, committed crimes, and displayed obnoxious, ignorant behavior unprecedented in the annuals of the Oval Office.

It is universally acknowledged that Republican Abraham Lincoln stands as America’s greatest president. Republican Donald J. Trump is, without debate, the worst president in our nation’s history. You can easily argue Trump is also the most dangerous, disgraceful citizen this country has ever produced.

The 155-year descent of the Republican Party is complete. From the nation’s greatest president in 1865 to the worst in 2020. (Photos credit The Weekly Opine. Trump face CNN screenshot)

By a country mile Trump is worse than anyone I can think of. Worse than those associated with the Ku Klux Klan, such as Bull Connor. Worse than Charles Manson. Worse than Jim Jones. Worse than Timothy McVeigh. Worse than Bernie Madoff. Worse than O.J. Simpson. Worse than R. Kelly. Worse than Jeffrey Epstein. It takes a vivid imagination to picture a future American more disreputable than Trump.

Those who accommodate Trump have ruined their own legacies. Some of them now clam up or gently disagree with Trump (e.g., Mitch McConnell, Mike Pence, Nikki Haley). Others, including milquetoasts like Lindsey Graham and Kevin McCarthy, dig in deeper, willing to ride with Trump to whatever depths he falls.

Yet, even after last week’s bombshell indictment, buoyed by irrefutable evidence (photos, audio, video and corroborating testimony from multiple witnesses), dopey GOPers stand in support of a man whom most would not allow within 20 feet of their own daughters. Nor would they recommend their sons go into business with Trump.

Yet, many Red Staters continue their full-throated endorsement of Trump, spineless bootlickers willing to trade American democracy for authoritarianism. At the national, state and local levels, their willingness to cheat in order to win reeks of last-ditch desperation. Republican’s complicity in disregarding truth, science and facts may well result in the Grand Old Party sinking into the abyss alongside Trump.

The fat lady hasn’t sung… yet

Trump’s legal troubles run wide and deep. This feels similar to one of those large, multi-day music festivals. At the big music fests, e.g., Lollapalooza, each day caps off with a blockbuster band. Right now, Trump’s legal problems line up like platinum-level bands ready to hit the main stage.

The heat is on. For real. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

January 6 – Realistically, this is a slam dunk on a 4-foot rim. The House Select Committee, and the plethora of mostly Republican witnesses who spoke truth to power, proved Trump led a conspiracy that attempted to change the outcome of the 2020 election. Then he tried to overthrow the government. Seditious conspiracy guilty verdicts, for leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys, do not portend well for Trump, as it relates to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation.

Fulton County, Georgia – The audio of Trump begging Georgia’s secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes” is one of Trump’s greatest hits that should send him to prison. No hearsay, or third-party storytelling here. Clearly, Trump is speaking those words, his voice as recognizable as the orange mop he passes off as hair. District Attorney Fani Willis seems ready, by summer’s end, to lower-the-boom regarding Trump’s attempt to steal the election and his attempt to install fake-electors.

New York, New York City – While state Attorney General Leticia James is conducting a civil investigation, she’s made it perfectly clear the Trump Organization has committed a mountain of financial crimes. If James decides to share her evidence with Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg (why wouldn’t she?) well, then, boom-shaka-laka! Trump will be under more heat, just miles from 5th Avenue. Trump’s adult chilluns, who’ve become noticeably quieter since Indictment River started flowing, are at risk of criminal charges in New York City, too.

Now, here's a reality check: Anyone dumb enough to believe Trump’s legal troubles are “hoaxes” and “witch hunts” is probably dumb enough to send money to Trump. The self-proclaimed smartest businessman around, who by his own account is a billionaire, for some reason continues to beg his duped minions to pay his legal bills. And many of them zealously oblige.

It doesn’t matter. The chickens are headed home.