So it continues. The Trump charade is apparently unceasing and he maintains his high profile presence in news media around the world and more particularly in the United States which seems to thrive on the cult of personality more so than in any other country. This is particularly the case with elections of public officials.
In general a political candidate will have a campaign organiser who will seek to spread the word using as much of the media as possible to make the candidate known to the electorate. This will involve press releases and publicity of all sorts. To mount such a campaign can be very costly and many fundraising events are included in the general scheme of the campaign. If, on top of the paid-for rallies, meeting halls and any other associated events, the news media chooses to cover these events, thereby giving free publicity for the candidate, so much the better. Keeping the candidate in the news is essential. The more s/he is on the front page, seen and heard, the better the campaign and the better the chances of election.
Mr Trump, it would seem, merely has to stand still and the news media gathers round waiting to report his reactions to the actions being taken by various law enforcement agencies to bring him to account for the moves he has made to make himself great again. His reactions are invariably the same: “This is a witch-hunt. I am the victim. I am a victim like nobody has ever been a victim before. I am the greatest victim of all time. I am the greatest victim by a lot”. His complaint is a continuous, unending repetitive flow of his obsession with himself.
The tragedy is that it appears to be working. He need spend none of the millions of dollars that have been donated to him on his campaign. The merchandising of his mug shot has already raised over $7 million. He can cheerfully cover his legal expenses (assuming he has actually paid any of his lawyers) including travel to and from courts and police stations. The press and television news coverage is on permanent watch, so no need to pay per view. He, therefore, has no need to ‘debate’ with anyone. The bulk of the Republican Party do it for him. Even his rival candidates would support him where he to be the chosen nominee in 2024 regardless of any finding of guilt or liability in a courtroom. Such is the insanity of the current American electorate.
Law enforcement has taken far too long to bring on the prosecutions and they have all come at roughly the same time. It is quite likely that none of them will actually see a courtroom or come before a jury before the 5th November 2024. After that, they will all have come to nought. Such is the tragedy of the American judicial system.
But what of his co-conspirators? Back in November and December of 2020, I commented on Jena Ellis, Sydney Powell and Rudy Giuliani. As for Jena Ellis I commented on 24 November 2020:
Mr Trump's continuing ‘fight’ to save the American public from fraud has a wonderful senior legal advisor in Jenna Ellis. In a statement to NPR News (National Public Radio) she said “Every American deserves to know that our elections are conducted in a legal manner, no matter who they are or where they live”…” That’s our only goal: to ensure safe, secure, and fair elections. That’s what the Constitution requires.” Well done Jenna Ellis, by repeatedly losing in court and demonstrating that you can find no evidence of massive fraud or massive illegal conduct, you have proven beyond a doubt, to all Americans no matter who they are or where they are, that the elections were conducted in a legal manner.
Ms Jenna Ellis, enrolled in 2003 at Cedarville University, then in 2004 transferred to the Colorado State University in order to study journalism. In 2011, she received a law degree from the University of Richmond School of Law. She is a former deputy district attorney in Weld County, Colorado and a former assistant professor of legal studies at Colorado Christian University. As a private lawyer, she has litigated cases in state courts. In 2015, she self-published The Legal Basis for a Moral Constitution, a book arguing that the Constitution of the United States can only be interpreted in accordance with the Bible. Ellis was a stern critic of Donald Trump in 2015 and early 2016, until he became the 2016 Republican nominee for president, after which Ellis began voicing support, including media appearances. Ellis was hired by Trump in November 2019 as a senior legal adviser.
As to Rudy Giuliani he made the NYU Law Review and graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor degree in 1968. At that time he supported Robert Kennedy and voted for George McGovern. Sometime, between 1975 and 1980 he joined the Republican Party. He apparently distinguished himself as Mayor of New York on 9/11 in 2001, being called ‘America’s Mayor’ and being named Time Magazine’s Person of The Year 2001.
Sidney Katherine Powell, who was born into a working-class family in Durham, North Carolina, grew up in the city of Raleigh, and knew from an early age that she wanted to be a lawyer. She graduated from Needham Broughton High School and went on to attend the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts. At the age of 19, she was accepted into the University of North Carolina School of Law, where she graduated in 1978 with a Juris Doctor degree. She began her legal career as one of the youngest federal prosecutors in the US.
Here they are again, from left to right:
Sidney Powell – the former member of Trump’s legal team was booked and released on a $100,000 bond. Charges: Seven counts — two of conspiracy to commit election fraud; one of violation of the Georgia RICO Act; one of conspiracy to commit computer theft; one of conspiracy to commit computer trespass; one of conspiracy to defraud the state; one of conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy.
Jenna Ellis – the attorney who advised Trump during his alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results was booked and released on a £100,000 bond. Charges: Two counts — one of violation of the Georgia RICO Act; one of solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer. (How can she smile for a mug shot? Brave girl.)
Including the above, there are 19 people involved in the Georgia indictment. One should note that there were 22 people convicted of matters relating to the Watergate scandal. So it is not unknown for juries to take a view when it comes to political corruption, although some of the 22 in President Nixon’s case pleaded guilty and ended up with shortish sentences in minimum security detention centres. I do not think that any of the nineteen are likely to face prison. There is also the possibility that none of the trials will even take place if Mr Trump manages to delay matters till after November 2024 and he is somehow elected as the next President of the United States.
Given the background and education of the above three, which is very similar to the rest of the defendants in the Georgia State Indictment, one has to ask how these people allowed themselves to be drawn into behaviour that amounts to racketeering and gangsterism to such a degree. Is Trump’s narcissistic insanity so like a black hole, with a gravity so intense, that it swallows up any and all objects that come within its orbit?
There is a cartoon by Paul Noth in the New Yorker which expresses a view:
There is a scene from the film of The Caine Mutiny (1954) that might give some indication as to what might happen were Mr Trump to take the stand during a trial.
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