A Reckoning?

Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

Is this it? 

In the smorgasbord of legal jeopardy that the former president is facing, it now seems likely that it will be the Manhattan district attorney’s office that will step up and do something that has never been done before in American history — indict a former president. 

The tea leaves are strong, according to those who know how such things work. The fact that Donald Trump, now a private citizen, has been offered a chance by prosecutors to testify before a grand jury investigating his business dealings means that an indictment is likely imminent. But until and unless it actually happens, this remains prospective and not a certainty. 

For those of you who may have trouble keeping track of all the alleged nefariousness for which Trump is being investigated, this is the one involving hush money payments just before the 2016 election to the adult film actress Stormy Daniels to cover up an affair. The sordid details of this case are right out of the tabloid world in which Trump has stewed for most of his life. Where they rise to a more serious nature surrounds an intriguing counterfactual — if news of the affair had come out right before Election Day and dominated news coverage, might we be talking about the Hillary Clinton presidency? Maybe. Maybe not. 

It also should be noted, as The New York Times does, that the case “poses challenges for prosecutors.” As much as some might feel the facts line up to a tidy narrative pointing to Trump’s guilt, the legal case will be more complicated. The Times adds, “Even if Mr. Trump is indicted, convicting him or sending him to prison will be challenging.” To which we add, “To say the least.” Let no one be mistaken: Indictment of Trump is not yet an absolute certainty. If he is indicted, getting a conviction could be difficult. 

For a sheer level of rot, one could make an argument that the other investigations Trump is facing, around whether he tried to steal the 2020 election in places like Georgia or incited the violent January 6 insurrection, are even more serious than the hush payments. They speak of a level of alleged presidential criminal activity that is almost impossible to believe — a sitting president actively using the power of his office to destroy American constitutional order. 

If this were a Hollywood film, one could imagine Trump facing justice on these counts crescendoing to a cinematic denouement. A president who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution working to undermine the basic tenets of that document through violence and intimidation? It doesn’t get more grave, or dramatic, than that. 

Indictment. Trial. Conviction. Roll the credits. 

For now, however, all that is speculative and alleged as well. The prosecution that seems the most likely at the moment involves a potent equation that has destroyed many previous political careers — sex, meets money, meets power. 

But this case in the headlines just now does offer an opportunity for poetic justice. Trump’s one-time playground — Manhattan — now acts as his jury. The celebrity culture that shielded him previously from accountability has now caught up with him. The absurdity of the moral gymnastics and hypocrisy Trump’s legions of Christian evangelical and other “conservative” supporters summoned forth to support a man of his character is now being litigated for all to see.

Trump was always someone who used showmanship to cover up the tawdry, who adorned his buildings with gold and marble to hide the emptiness of his empire. The social and power circles of Manhattan where he desperately sought membership and inclusion now enclose him. 

Trump will not go down without a fight. He and his defenders will rail against a “political prosecution,” a “witch hunt.” He will play the role of martyr facing down a supposed “deep state” liberal cabal. He will turn his previous hometown into the villain — Manhattan as the epitome of “woke” America. He will desperately stoke his base. 

And as mentioned above, even if Trump is indicted, it doesn’t mean he will be convicted. We and he have a long way yet to go. And as we go, it is worth reminding ourselves that, under the Constitution and the law, he is entitled to a presumption of innocence. It’s the American way.

And yet there is no denying that today something is different — the shadow of the law is looming, stretching from Manhattan all the way down to Mar-a-Lago. Come to think of it, that sounds like a pretty dark and gripping film in its own right. 

Martin Scorsese, any interest? 

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