Don’t Worry: There Are At Least 18 Other Legal Cases Against Trump
Before you jump off a cliff, believing Trump will get away with everything, here’s the list.
Today’s edition of The Banter Newsletter is proudly sponsored by International Intrigue, a newsletter that aims to make global affairs enjoyable again. International Intrigue gives you the most important geopolitical news and analysis in a 5-minute daily briefing that you’ll actually look forward to reading. It’s curated by former diplomats to help you enjoy understanding your world. Sign up today here, completely free!
by Bob Cesca
WASHINGTON, DC – On Wednesday, we learned that Manhattan prosecutors Carey Dunne and Mark Pomerantz resigned from the district attorney’s office, and subsequently the criminal investigation into Donald Trump’s shady business practices. According to The New York Times, Dunne and Pomerantz quit because the district attorney, Alvin Bragg, who replaced Cy Vance, reportedly has “doubts about moving forward with a case against Mr. Trump.”
Presentations of evidence and witness testimony to the grand jury have apparently been nonexistent in the past month. Worse, the grand jury expires a little more than a month from now.
The report didn’t say exactly why Bragg appears to be backing down from the prosecution. Occam’s Razor suggests the case, launched by Vance, isn’t as airtight as we like to think it is. Perhaps it’s also because Allen Weisselberg, Trump’s CFO, who’s been indicted already on tax fraud charges, refused to flip on Trump despite the pressure of his own indictment. Cooperation from Weisselberg would’ve been the key to assembling a successful indictment against Trump. Perhaps the evidence just isn’t there. These are the most likely scenarios.
However, given that Trump has mysteriously escaped indictment through the years, it’s fair to speculate that someone got to Bragg. Again, this is pure conjecture, but it’s possible Bragg was threatened or bought off with a substantial campaign donation or similar. I have no proof, but it’s worth thinking about, given the bizarre circumstances here – the sudden resignations being the most alarming reason to wave every red flag in the world.
Who knows? I certainly don’t. And yes, this is bad news for those of us who desperately want to see this unrepentant crook – this slimy con-man – removed from normal society and incarcerated.
The good news is there are 18 other pending legal cases stacked up against Trump and his interests. Before you jump off a cliff, believing Trump will get away with everything, here’s the list:
1) The first we should mention here is the actual indictment by then-district attorney Vance’s office of the Trump Organization for allegedly reimbursing employees with gifts to circumvent tax law. (Criminal case.)
2) Mimi Rocah, the Westchester, New York district attorney, is targeting Trump’s golf resort there for allegedly deflating the value of its property to avoid paying higher taxes. (Criminal case.)
3) Never forget New York Attorney General Letitia James, too, and every indication so far points to what could be a very successful investigation and prosecution of the Trump Organization for, once again, inflating the value of assets on loan applications while deflating the value of assets for tax and insurance purposes. Remember that James successfully dissolved the Trump Foundation for fraud, and her office, then under Eric Schneiderman, dissolved Trump University for scamming its students. (Civil case.)
4) Trump and his adult children are being sued by an anonymous group of investors who claim the Trumps duped them into pumping cash into what amounted to a multi-level marketing pyramid scheme. Over the Summer, the Second Circuit ruled there would be no arbitration in the lawsuit, which is bad news for Trump. (Civil case.)
5) The attorney general in Washington, DC, Karl Racine, is investigating Trump for the old inauguration scam in which the Trumps are accused of stealing money from the inaugural committee and using it for personal expenses. (Civil case.)
6) My friend Mary Trump is suing her Uncle Donald, along with her cousins Don Jr., Eric, and Ivanka, for fraud related to the family inheritance. (Civil case.)
Paid sponsorship:
Curated by former diplomats, International Intrigue gives you the most important geopolitical news and analysis in an entertaining, 5-min newsletter that’s chock full of insights. Try it free here!
7) Karl Racine in DC also launched a criminal probe into Trump’s plotting of the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol. (Criminal case.)
8) - 11) In four separate cases, 10 capitol police officers are suing Trump over the insurrection. Likewise, a DC metro police office is also suing Trump for inciting the violent invasion of the Capitol. (Civil cases.)
12) No fewer than 11 elected members of the House are suing Trump for sparking the insurrection. Rudy Giuliani and two white supremacist groups, the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, are also named in the lawsuit. (Civil case.)
13) This is a big one. Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, is engaged in perhaps the most likely of all the criminal cases against Trump. This time for alleged election fraud – specifically his call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which he asked for 11,780 more votes, which would’ve conveniently pushed Trump’s vote total higher than Joe Biden’s vote total there. (Criminal case.)
14) The NAACP is suing Trump for a similar reason: his frantic attempt to commit election fraud. The basis for the lawsuit is that if Trump had been successful, it would’ve disenfranchised voters of color. (Civil case.)
15) Trump’s former fixer Michael Cohen is suing Trump in a case related to Cohen’s prison sentence. (Civil case.)
16) E. Jean Carroll’s defamation suit remains in progress. You might recall that Trump called Carroll a liar, the defamation in the case, when she accused him of raping her. (Civil case.)
17) Alexander Vindman is suing Trump after Trump retaliated against Vindman for testifying the first impeachment proceeding against him. (Civil case.)
18) And finally, a group of activists are suing Trump after being assaulted during a protest outside Trump Tower. (Civil case.)
Wait, there’s one more. Maybe. Attorney General Merrick Garland this week said that he’ll follow the evidence in the National Archives document theft case against Trump. This could turn into another criminal prosecution against the former president, and the first one to emerge from the Department of Justice.
There could also be a series of criminal referrals sent to Justice from the 1/6 committee, including referrals against Trump. Whether Garland chooses to pursue those referrals is another story.
We all wish the system would move more swiftly in the process of punishing this crook and his crooked children. Given how there are 18 (or more) cases lined up against him, including four criminal cases (perhaps more), the odds are still pretty strong that at least one of them will stick to the wall. My patience is growing thin, but I’m making an attempt to savor the reality that in total, these cases have to be driving Trump nuts. For now, that’ll have to be enough until we see him frog-marched out of Mar-a-lago.
Today’s edition of The Banter Newsletter was brought to you by International Intrigue, a daily global affairs briefing designed to help you actually enjoy understanding your world. Sign up here for the newsletter!
Read the latest for Banter Members (Membership deal below!):
Justin Rosario: Fascism Is Bad But So Is Wokeism! Worse, Actually! by Matt Bai
The Washington Post's Matt Bai wants you to know that fascism is bad, but have you heard about this identity politics thing?
While nothing has come of them yet he can be prosecuted for the same things he was impeached for.