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I am an Innocent Man

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Classified Documents on view at the Mar-a-Lago ballroom.

Perhaps Trump was subconsciously echoing the words of Billy Joel, but they rang hollow at his short briefing following his second indictment.  The man who made it a felony for the unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents now faces a criminal court with the prospect of up to five years in jail on each count of the federal indictment.  How's that for irony?

It never ceases to amaze me how Republicans refuse to cut ties with Trump.  This is especially true of House Republicans, who voted overwhelming to block the results of the Electoral College after the January 6 insurrection attempt.  Twelve GOP Senators joined them.  You would think this would have been a red line, as it was clear for all to see that Trump had given his tacit approval for the siege of the Capitol that day. 

This level of complicity is unprecedented, or "unpresidented" as Donald would say.  Yet, here we are two-and-a-half years later and Republicans are still defending their Commander-in-Chief despite a detailed indictment including numerous photos that explicitly shows how he mishandled classified documents.  He took these documents after he was finally forced to surrender the White House on January 20, never once acknowledging his successor Joe Biden as the new president.

Republicans have had numerous opportunities to shed themselves of Trump, yet only a handful speak out against him.  Among them Mitt Romney and Lisa Murkowoski, who both had strong words on the indictment that was issued against the former president.  The GOP presidential candidates all had something to say, most of them anyway, but only Asa Hutchinson, former governor of Arkansas, insisted that Trump should "step aside."  The GOP Senate leadership dodged questions, choosing to presume Trump's innocence until proven guilty.  

The Republican Party is literally held hostage by Trump, or more specifically by his supporters who account for roughly half of the GOP electorate.  While they may say they are "open to supporting other candidates," they mean only those who will carry the Trump banner head, as it has clearly become his party.  This is why so few Republicans are willing to speak out against Trump even when the preponderance of evidence in this case points against him.

Sadly, the GOP electorate doesn't seem to care.  They think it is all part of some "deep state" operation which their beloved leader repeatedly warned them against.  Trump literally spent four years lashing out at the DOJ, FBI and every other federal law enforcement agency, as he fought back attempts to brandish him a traitor in collusion with the Kremlin.  The Durham Report, released last month, effectively confirmed these beliefs by saying that there was "confirmation bias" in the FBI investigation led by former FBI director Mueller.

This was a well-timed release as it was known that the DOJ was wrapping up its investigation into Trump's mishandling of classified documents.  John Durham had been handpicked by Bill Barr back in 2019 essentially to clear up the matter of Russian collusion.  Not sure why Durham dragged his heels so long but here we are with a supposedly exhaustive investigation that "proves" that neither Trump nor anyone else in his administration had close ties with Russia despite all the indictments that were issued as a result of the Mueller investigation.  Durham fed directly into the biases of Trump's electorate, firming up support for the former president among the grass roots of the Republican Party and making it that much more difficult for anyone to challenge Trump.  

Unfortunately, Trump no longer has the DOJ on his side.  This has of course led to new cries that Biden should be impeached. This "sham indictment is the continuation of the endless political persecution of Donald Trump," according to Steve Scalise, the #2 GOP leader in the House.  It doesn't matter that the investigations against Trump emanated from his own DOJ.  In Republicans' addled minds, Trump is being as badly persecuted as Jesus and many regard him as their personal savior, especially when it comes to securing their seats in Congress.

As a result, no amount of evidence proving Trump's guilt will change the minds of his supporters.  As long as he continues to have this unquestioning support among top GOP leaders, it is pretty much assured he will win the GOP nomination in 2024.  He can still run for president in jail, although ironically he wouldn't be able to vote for himself.   The only question is how do the remainder of Americans feel?  


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