"Will Be Wild 2.0"

 

     Prologue

     Damn it, I was supposed to enjoy this.

     I've been dreaming of a day like this since 2016 when Trump's criminality was finally getting a national spotlight. It would've involved getting a $45 bottle of Bushmills single malt, maybe a bottle of champagne. I was supposed to have written about the imminent indictment of Donald Trump and short-stroked it until the Rapture.

     Most of all, Mrs. JP was supposed to have enjoyed this moment with me.

     Instead, she's lying in a hospital bed, about to be taken to a nursing home against both our wills. Instead, I just numbly look at the headlines knowing I can't do justice to them. I can't take any joy in this.

     Blogging was always meant to be just a pastime for me, giving it away until I had to strike out on my own then it became my side hustle. Then it became my sole means of income and, with that, a greater sense of dedication and responsibility.

     Now that my friend and benefactor is dead and Mrs. JP's about to get legally kidnapped and shunted to a human warehouse, her Social Security will go with her, leaving me with $1007 to pay $800 in rent and hundreds more in monthly bills. Obviously, eviction is on the horizon. The love of my life is being taken from me and, thus far, I have no legal recourse.

     How can I take joy in this? Indeed, what's the point of living since everything's being taken from me all at once? What's the point of fighting to get her back if I have nowhere to take her back to? What's the point in fighting for anything?

     Still...

     Whether you look at blogging as my avocation or vocation, I suppose I still have a civic obligation to opine on this looming indictment, even if only for a very small dedicated readership. But plainly, I won't be going for laughs here and with none of my trademark snark. Indeed, this may be the last political post I ever make because my heart just got torn out over the course of a 42 minute-long phone call I got from a social worker yesterday.

     

The Indictment

     Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has given unmistakable signs that an indictment is coming. It started last week when his office had invited Donald Trump to testify on his own behalf before the grand jury. As expected, he declined.

     Then yesterday we learned that Bragg's office has been consulting with the NYPD regarding security measures that will need to be implemented in advance of the indictment's announcement and when Trump will have to surrender himself. Liberals were giddy at the thought of seeing Trump doing a perp walk, in handcuffs, but that's simply not going to happen. Instead, Bragg was more likely conferring with police authorities over crowd control measures rather than the logistics of putting Trump in handcuffs.

     In reality, we'll hardly get a glimpse of Trump when he arrives at whatever police precinct they take him to for booking and then the courthouse where he'll be arraigned. In short, if the Manhattan DA's office makes the mistake of turning this into a circus then that's exactly what they'll get, only it'll be the kind that gets people killed, like January 6th.

The Stage Is Set

 

     As expected, Trump reacted to the inevitable indictment with an all caps, screaming jeremiad on Truth Social with the requisite misspellings, poor punctuation and name-calling.

     But the only thing he said in his two part hissy fit that has any real world implications and relevance was his invitation to his supporters to converge on Manhattan to "PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!"

     As former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner said to Katie Phang this morning, this sounds alarmingly like Trump's well-stoked days-long invitation to his supporters to march to DC to stop the certification of the Electoral College results, or what Kirschner called, "Will be wild 2.0". Michael Cohen agrees.

     However it shakes out, it'll surely one of the most noteworthy days in New York City history, a city that's already drenched with world-changing history. It'll mark the first time in US history that a former president has been indicted on criminal charges. It'll be a circus from the time Trump touches down at the airport in his 747 until he's arraigned in Manhattan. Then he'll be freed on his own recognizance and we'll get to see the circus replay only in reverse.

     It's what will happen in between, during the actual arraignment, that has to worry officials.

     The St. Patrick's Day parade that stretched from 44th to 79th streets yesterday will shrink in comparison to the crowds that will be at the courthouse. There will be plenty of Trump supporters and even more from out of state. Arrests will likely be made and people are almost guaranteed to get hurt.

     Keep one thing in mind- Over 74,000,000 people voted for Trump in 2020. The DOJ has made barely over 1000 arrests related to January 6th. That's a tiny fraction of 1% of Trump's voters. I'm not saying all of them are violent but look what a few thousand of his voters did on January 6th. They nearly killed Mike Pence and stalled the certification for several hours while making over 530 lawmakers flee for their lives.

What to Expect in Court

 

     Again, it won't be like when Allen Weisselberg was indicted last summer. The police had no problem putting him in handcuffs because who cares about Allen Weisselberg? Trump's own indictment will be a very different thing.

     As I'm sure we all know, thus is about the hush money payment that Trump made through Michael Cohen to adult film star Stormy Daniels. While Bragg had upgraded one misdemeanor to a felony, he'd also downgraded more than one felony to misdemeanor status. Cohen might not even be at the center of this trial, despite his heavy involvement. He's testified to the DA's attorneys 20 times and to the grand jury twice.

     But it's unclear if he'll even be called to testify during the trial itself on account of the massive amounts of evidence that Bragg's office has collected. And the charges involve more than just campaign finance violations (which would be a federal matter, anyway). It's about improperly keeping business records.

     Trump's lead lawyer on this, Joe Tacopina, claims Trump simply made a $130,000 contribution to his own campaign, which is fallacious because that's exactly the amount Daniels was paid by Cohen. Plus, why not just transfer the money from his private account directly to his campaign's?

     Plus, the prevailing opinion is when Bragg announces the grand jury's indictment, it will start a domino effect of other indictments and charges in both New York and Georgia. It'll be a spectacular fall from grace and before the dust settles, all Trump will have left are the dead-enders like Marjorie Taylor Greene and some of his voters.

     I don't see Trump going to prison for any of these crimes but being multiply indicted, a fate spared his 44 predecessors, will finish him as a viable political entity.

 

Epilogue

     Again, I wish I could enjoy all this with all the appropriate schadenfreude. But, I'm sorry, folks. My life's coming to an end. At least I can say I lived just long enough to see the downfall of the worst, most ruinous American who ever lived. At least I have that satisfaction.

     For those of you who've stayed with me through Welcome Back to Pottersville's long stretch, I thank you. I especially thank those of you past and present, living and dead for your financial patronage until recently. I had some fun over the course this blog's 4100+ posts but, as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

     Fare thee well and keep kicking for those of us who can't.