Donald Trump received his target letter from Special Counsel Jack Smith in the Mar-a-Lago case way back on May 19. The very next day, Trump went on a very specific Truth Social rant spree.
“TRUMP Hating Special Prosecutor Jack Smith, whose family and friends are Big Time Haters also, will be working overtime on this treasonous quest,” he said, referring to Democrats supposedly stepping up their “fake investigations.”
“I did NOTHING WRONG!” he hollered in another. “When are they going to start talking about Biden’s documents, and the documents of almost all other modern day Presidents?”
He also berated the Justice Department for “viciously investigating me about ‘the Boxes Hoax,’ even though Biden is guilty and I am not — I did nothing wrong!”
The former President’s preoccupation on that spring Saturday has come into clearer focus now, as an indictment unsealed Friday details 37 separate counts related to Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified documents and attempts to cover them up after he left office. The date of the target letter was revealed by Smith in court filings.
At its crux, the indictment lists documents that were part of Trump’s stash, allegedly including information about U.S. nuclear weapons, military plans and foreign support of terrorist attacks that ran counter to U.S. interests.
It also paints a vivid picture of Trump’s usual blend of buffoonery and maliciousness as he allegedly dispatched his valet — also indicted — to shlep boxes of documents in and out of rooms, mused over the benefits of not revealing the existence of the documents and, per the indictment, theatrically reminisced before his lawyers about how Hillary Clinton’s attorney took the fall for her.
In his usual exclamation point and caps lock-heavy style, Trump denounced the indictment Friday as a “WITCH HUNT,” insisting that the boxes were full of innocuous newspapers and photos rather than classified material.
Smith, in a Friday afternoon press conference, promised a “speedy trial” and said he was eager to present his team’s case to a jury.
I’d feel bad for him but it’s unpossible.
Trump qua MAGA/Q is an Id Monster conjured from our nation’s lizard hindbrain and nothing about this has changed. Be nice to believe that enough of those willing to give this a pass before are now awake enough to reject it this time around.
ETA: After a couple exposures I avoided listening to Trump’s speeches: they were a tossed word salad, stream of consciousness with no external logic, and yet the audiences were rapt and it was then I realized they didn’t really see or hear him at all: he was a totem, a cracked container for every fear, bigotry, or resentment they entertained, and what made him truly fearful was not what he was or what he might do but what he legitimized and permitted.
Why feel bad for Trump? He did this to himself. He got bolder after two impeachments, but no Senate convictions.
He’s staring down dozens of counts in a federal indictment and potentially spending the rest of his natural life in prison — all because he actually believed all his own spin and lies about Hillary’s emails, thinking that gave him license to steal government secrets and then lie to a grand jury and the FBI about it. Which, it should be noted, is not what Hillary did.
Trump’s arrogance, incompetence, and callous disregard for our national security are enraging. Even more enraging is that the entire Republican party and 30% of voters stand foursquare behind this malignant, criminal sociopath. What the fuck is wrong with people?
His entire life is one youuuge rant. After suffering through eight years of his yip yap most of us have reached the point of being immunized against it.
But if you’re a MAGAt I suppose it’s nourishing.
#pleasesendmoney!