The midterm elections are almost upon us, and the chattering class is already setting its sights on 2024. The Democrats’ losses are almost a foregone conclusion at this point. Now, the focus is pivoting to the race to determine who will occupy the White House after President Joe Biden concludes his first term.
According to a new CNN report, former President Donald Trump is expected to announce his intention to make a third run for the presidency, which will essentially launch the 2024 campaign into full swing. From the report:
Top aides to former President Donald Trump have discussed the third week of November as an ideal launch point for his 2024 presidential campaign if Republicans fare well in the midterm elections next week, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN.
Two sources said Trump’s team has specifically discussed November 14 as one possible announcement date, which would come in the middle of an overseas trip to Asia that President Joe Biden has long been scheduled to make. Trump is unlikely to announce prior to that Monday, even if the GOP exceeds expectations on Election Night, to avoid overshadowing his daughter Tiffany’s November 12 wedding at Mar-a-Lago and because he does not want to share a news cycle with midterm results, sources said.
The courses also noted that this timeframe could change depending on how the midterms shake out. The report suggests “Trump could push it back if control of the Senate remains undecided after Election Day or Republicans see underwhelming gains in their House races.
We already know the left has been looking at ways to prevent another Trump run at the White House and has been mulling over ways to keep the Orange Man What Is Bad™ from becoming their arch nemesis once again. But when the midterms are finally behind us, we better be ready for what’s ahead.
I’m talking about indictments. Probably quite a few indictments, in fact.
The report noted that the Justice Department “has observed the traditional quiet period of not making any overt moves that may have political consequences” during the campaign season. Indeed, when the FBI searched Trump’s home at Mar a Lago earlier this year, many viewed it as yet another sign that the agency has become politicized.
While the DOJ has been relatively quiet on Trump since the raid, its investigators have been working to build a case against the former president and his associates. From CNN:
But behind the scenes, investigators have remained busy, using aggressive grand jury subpoenas and secret court battles to compel testimony from witnesses in both the investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election and his alleged mishandling of national security documents kept at his Palm Beach home.
Now federal investigators are planning for a burst of post-election activity in Trump-related investigations. That includes the prospect of indictments of Trump’s associates – moves that could be made more complicated if Trump declares a run for the presidency.
As we all know, the DOJ can indict a ham sandwich. If the report is accurate, there might be enough sandwiches to make Dagwood Bumstead say, “enough!”
Federal authorities will likely be targeting Trump and company over a myriad of issues, including the Jan. 6 riot, efforts to challenge the 2020 presidential election, and the documents he kept at Mar a Lago. But if Trump does announce his run for the presidency, it will further complicate the matter. If Attorney General Merrick Garland wants to go after him, he will probably appoint a special prosecutor to avoid the appearance of political bias.
In March, Garland told CNN that they must avoid “any partisan element of our decision making” and make sure the cases are “made on the facts and the law” instead of “partisan considerations.”
Anyone who has been paying attention over the past seven years knows this is BS. The FBI and DOJ have shown that they are overtly political. Both agencies have been after Trump since even before he won the 2016 election. The Bureau has been targeting the former president and even his associates to intimidate and punish those who identify with him.
But while the DOJ is conducting investigations, the agency might also be the target of an investigation.
Republican lawmakers serving on the House Judiciary Committee announced the release of a 1,000-page report outlining numerous allegations of politicization against the Bureau. If and when the GOP retakes the lower chamber, this document will become the basis for oversight investigations into the FBI. Over the next two years, the nation will likely see two competing investigations. But the efforts against Trump are clearly designed to discourage the former president from running again. The question is: Will it succeed?
