Why Republicans Hate the Trump Verdict
Even those who dislike the former President see a case of legal and political malpractice.The Wall Street Journal gets it. The Ed Board writes:
“How dare Mitt Romney. And Sens. Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell. The anti-Trump press corps is dismayed that Republicans of all stripes, even those who aren’t fond of Donald Trump, have criticized the Manhattan prosecution and guilty verdict.
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The media coverage after the verdict has followed the usual Trump-era pattern. Democrats pursue some anti-Trump operation—impeachment, a Russia collusion probe, a prosecution. The press then descends as one to chide Republicans, with the unsubtle implication that they must be unethical sellouts if they oppose what Democrats are doing.
There’s rarely a fair-minded media accounting on the legal or substantive merits. But note that the critics of Alvin Bragg’s case aren’t merely J.D. Vance, Marco Rubio and other campaigners for Vice President. This time the critics include Sens. Romney and McConnell and Collins, as well as those of us in the media who are often critical of Mr. Trump.
Maybe they see the case as the egregious misuse of the law that it is. And maybe they worry about the consequences for public confidence in the rule of law when a misdemeanor whose statute of limitations has expired is twisted into a convoluted felony.
“Bragg should have settled the case against Trump, as would have been the normal procedure. But he made a political decision,” Mr. Romney told a writer for the Atlantic. “Bragg may have won the battle, for now, but he may have lost the political war. Democrats think they can put out the Trump fire with oxygen. It’s political malpractice.”
No one knows how the politics will evolve, and maybe Mr. Trump will again play into President Biden’s hands by making the election all about Donald J. Trump. If the former President wants to win, he’ll stop raging about his fate and make the election about Mr. Biden’s record and Mr. Trump’s plans for the next four years.
Many Republicans we talk to are now more likely to vote for Mr. Trump after watching how Democrats have politicized the law to target a presidential opponent. They worry that a vote for Mr. Biden would vindicate this Democratic campaign by lawfare. Don’t be shocked if Mr. Romney proves to be right.”
Without a doubt “law fare” has opened a decided can of worms for Democrats, especially since they don’t recognize it. The old wisdom of sauce for the goose being sauce for the gander applies.
If the polls are right and Joe Biden becomes an ex-president on January 20th, how long will it take before some government lawyer somewhere targets Biden for prosecution? Stay tuned.
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