Trump fraud trial: Campaigning in court
Facing civil charges that could devastate his real estate empire, “Donald Trump brought the campaign trail to the courthouse,” said Jeremy Herb in CNN. The former president’s New York fraud trial concluded last week with his decision to ignore the judge’s instructions and “launch into a monologue” calling the civil charges “a political witch hunt.” New York Attorney General Letitia James has accused Trump of inflating the values of his properties to get better terms on loans and insurance, and has asked Judge Arthur Engoron to impose a $370 million penalty and bar Trump from doing business in New York. Engoron has already ruled that Trump’s company committed fraud, and after testimony concluded, said he’ll decide on a penalty by the end of the month. Trump seems to recognize that this trial “is a serious threat” to his “business and brand.” But in accusing James of “persecuting” him, he didn’t address the damning evidence—he made a “campaign speech” aimed at his loyal followers.
Trump wasn’t required to attend this trial, said Benjy Sarlin in Semafor, but showed up because he’s seen that “voters reflexively rallied to him” whenever he’s been charged with wrongdoing. Many Republicans see Trump as “a fallen martyr” who must be defended from prosecutors and judges and “resurrected” with their votes. “I’m being indicted for you,” Trump says at his rallies. By portraying his fraud trial and four criminal indictments as an attack on everyone who’s ever voted for him, he’s “defined” the GOP primary race and secured his front-runner status.
Trump spent more than 50 years perfecting his legal strategy, said Michael Kruse in Politico. In more than 4,000 legal cases filed by and against him, he’s learned to use courts to “deny, delay, and attack” and “always play the victim.” Even when he loses, he exhausts his opponents and finds ways to gain advantage. The fraud charges should destroy his brand as a brilliant businessman, but he’s actually “consolidating support because of it.” This civil trial reveals how Trump will handle the “coming fights for his freedom,” said Norman Eisen in The Daily Beast. He faces four criminal indictments, and reportedly plans to attend hearings and trials frequently so he can launch into the same kind of “undisciplined and unhinged” rant he hurled at Engoron. “Given the weakness of his legal position, it looks like Trump is aiming his arguments not at the court but at a different audience: the public.”