Despite wishful thinking by Democrats, the DOJ is likely to wait after the November midterms to announce any charges against Donald Trump if it determines he broke laws, according to sources familiar with the investigation, though charges could still be filed under seal prior to the elections.

As Bloomberg reported Wednesday, the unprecedented prospect of bringing charges against a former president is “creating intense scrutiny of the Justice Department” (angering Republicans already incensed by the DOJ and FBI’s persecution of Trump), following the raid on Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home.

In addition, a separate DOJ probe is focused on Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Here’s more, via Bloomberg:

Under long-standing department policy, prosecutors are barred from taking investigative steps or filing charges for the purpose of affecting an election or helping a candidate or party, traditionally 60 days before an election. This year, that would be by Sept. 10, which makes it unlikely anything would be announced until after Nov. 8, said people who asked to remain anonymous speaking about potential Justice Department actions.

[…]

[T]he the impact of any criminal case against Trump would likely be significant. While he isn’t on the ballot in November, Trump has endorsed candidates who are, and he leads a fierce political movement. He recently demanded that he be reinstated as president or a new election held. Trump also might declare he’s running for president prior to November, which would make him the instant frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

To be objective — a concept foreign to many political pundits — Trump remains his own worst enemy.

With respect to Trump’s demand that he be reinstated, as we reported on Wednesday, Trump erupted on Truth Social, demanding to be declared “the rightful winner” of the 2020 presidential election or to “have a new election, immediately!” Trump’s latest — and very familiar — demand came after claiming that “conclusive” new information about the FBI burying the Hunter Biden laptop scandal prior to the 2020 election not only impacted election results; it also provided a valid reason to “reinstate” Trump in office, or at the very least, immediately call for a new election.

So now it comes out, conclusively, that the FBI BURIED THE HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY BEFORE THE ELECTION knowing that, if they didn’t, Trump would have easily won the 2020 Presidential Election. This is massive FRAUD & ELECTION INTERFERENCE at a level never seen before in our Country. REMEDY: Declare the rightful winner or, and this would be the minimal solution, declare the 2020 Election irreparably compromised and have a new Election, immediately!

Not going to happen, of course.

pic.twitter.com/FIqAElHvP2

— Dr. Hold My Beer’s Ministry of Truth (@RealLibSmacker) August 31, 2022

According to Bloomberg, it wasn’t clear if any of the Trump investigations will have reached the point by November that a decision on charging the former president can be made, according to two of the people who asked to remain anonymous. While the Justice Department isn’t facing charging deadlines that must be met before November, as I suggested at the top, the stuff would really hit the fan from those already incensed with Attorney General Merrick Garland if he made a pre-midterms move on Trump.

Further fanning the flames, as we reported on Monday, the DOJ admitted in a court filing that FBI agents “potentially” seized “attorney-client privileged information.”

So, will Trump be indicted?

The honest answer is — and should be for any objective political writer — I don’t know. That said, even The New York Times seems to agree that the classification status of any documents seized from Trump might not be a legal issue at all, according to the search warrant affidavit.

No documentation has come to light confirming that Mr. Trump declassified the material, and the potential crimes cited by the Justice Department in seeking the search warrant for Mar-a-Lago would not hinge on the classification status of the documents.

Then again, Trump Derangement Syndrome is a powerful affliction. And Merrick Garland, along with most of his benefactors in the Democrat Party suffer from TDS, mightily so.