“It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” perhaps not this year.
The period after the mid-term elections may be a time of tension, strife, and sporadic violence, and not just because the GOP will likely fight (perhaps literally) any close election that keeps them one seat from a majority in the Senate (or House). And now, even Republicans expect Trump to be indicted within the 60-90 period after the mid-terms.
From The Hill:
Republican aides and strategists privately expect Attorney General Merrick Garland to pursue an indictment of former President Trump within 60 to 90 days after Election Day, predicting the window for prosecuting Trump will close once the 2024 presidential campaign gains momentum.
No, it will close because one would have to charge someone in November-December 2022 to hope to have a verdict before November 4th, 2024. These analysts are right that there is a window. They are wrong about the reason.
GOP aides also warn that an indictment of Trump by the Biden administration would further polarize the nation and likely strengthen Trump’s support from the Republican Party’s base as the former president and his allies would frame the Department of Justice’s prosecution as a political witch hunt.
If the DOJ doesn’t indict Trump, given the evidence that is in front of our faces, the decision would further polarize the nation. Garland actually enjoys some freedom regarding the decision. He will infuriate over half the country if he doesn’t indict. His decision will bring about a passionate response no matter what he decides. Thus, he can just follow the law. Trump’s base is hardened already and if one allows the threat of “hardening the base” to preclude an indictment, then we’re living under the rule of intimidation, not the rule of law.
“A couple of weeks after the election, I assume that Garland will indict Trump,” said one veteran Republican aide, expressing a sentiment shared by several other GOP aides and strategists.
This is the most likely scenario, either just before Thanksgiving week or the week after Thanksgiving, and a lot of the timing will depend upon whether the elections for control of Congress are settled so as to not pour grease on a national fire.
The rule about no political talk around the turkey or ham or prime rib will be ruthlessly enforced this year, like no other. It may be a bad year for gifts that are bright red and deep blue.
GOP bracing for Trump indictment soon after Election Day https://t.co/dVETOpIUFS pic.twitter.com/knZ3DIB935
— The Hill (@thehill) October 31, 2022
@JasonMiciak believes a day without learning is a day not lived. He is a political writer, features writer, author, and attorney. He is a Canadian-born dual citizen who spent his teen and college years in the Pacific Northwest and has since lived in seven states. He now enjoys life as a single dad of a young girl, writing from the beaches of the Gulf Coast. He loves crafting his flower pots, cooking, and currently studies philosophy of science, religion, and non-math principles behind quantum mechanics and cosmology. Please feel free to contact for speaking engagements or any concerns.
