Lawfare Update! Six Attacks on Trump (And Some May Succeed)

We’ve written a lot about lawfare lately. Lawfare is a portmanteau – a new word that combines two other words. In this case, the base words are: “law” and “warfare.”

In practice, lawfare means the use of law in new and strained ways to handicap political opponents. We’re seeing Trump’s opponents in the progressive movement dust off legal provisions that haven’t been used since the aftermath of the Civil War to launch lawsuits, obtain criminal indictments, and try to force Trump’s name off the ballot.

Here’s a quick summary of the state of lawfare today:

Use of the 14^th Amendment—Trump’s enemies claim that he is an “insurrectionist” barred from holding federal office under Section 3 of the 14^th Amendment. The Supreme Court put an end to this on March 4 when it ruled 9-0 that States cannot enforce Section 3 with regard to federal offices. This puts an end to the efforts of Colorado, Maine, Illinois, and twenty other states to kick Trump off the ballot.

Georgia RICO case – This is a criminal case in Fulton County, Georgia, accusing Trump and 19 co-defendants of a criminal conspiracy to interfere with the 2020 election results there. This case is falling apart before our eyes. It appears the District Attorney and head prosecutor had a romantic affair, arranged kickbacks to the DA, and lied about their activities under oath. The prosecutors will likely be kicked off the case and it will have to start over with new prosecutors. It’s even likely that the case will be dismissed because of the misconduct.

Classified documents case – This federal case accuses Trump of mishandling classified documents and taking those to Mar-a-Lago after he left the White House. This case is currently on hold because various motions are pending before the trial judge and the appellate courts. The case will take a long time to try in any event because the classified documents will be handled in closed sessions, although there are limits on that imposed by due process requirements. This case is very unlikely to be decided before Election Day. If Trump wins, he may even be able to pardon himself before the case reaches a verdict.

The January 6, 2020, case– this case is a federal prosecution brought by a special counsel, alleging Trump incited, aided, and abetted the riot in the Capitol on January 6, 2020. This case is also on hold pending a decision by the Supreme Court on the issue of presidential immunity. Oral arguments will be held on April 22, and the court may not decide the issue until late June. Again, if the case cannot even proceed until July (assuming Trump loses in the Supreme Court), it is unlikely to be completed before Election Day. Since this is a federal case, Trump can also pardon himself if he wins the election.

New York business records case – This is a civil case brought in New York State courts. Trump lost a judgment for $454 million and faces a shutdown of his business and seizure of his properties to pay the judgment if he cannot come up with the cash in the next few weeks. This is not a criminal case, but it could result in Trump’s bankruptcy. Trump cannot pardon himself because it’s a state law case, not a federal case.

The Stormy Daniels hush money case – this is another New York State law case accusing Trump of making disguised campaign contributions by paying hush money to a porn actress who alleges Trump had an affair with her. Given the biased New York jury pool, a conviction is likely, even though legal experts consider the case extremely weak. The trial begins March 25 and Trump may be convicted well before the election. Voters don’t seem to care, but New York District Attorney could put Trump behind bars pending appeal.

That’s quite a list of cases with a wide variety of trial dates and potential outcomes. What they all have in common is that they demonstrate Democrats and progressives will stop at nothing to destroy Trump. That’s a problem, but the bigger problem is they are destroying the rule of the law in the process.

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