Opinion - The hypocrisy of Donald Trump’s “witch-hunt” claim

Donald Trump has recently been crying wolf by declaring America’s legal system is a “witch-hunt” against him. Trump claims the New York, Georgia, Florida and District of Columbia court cases – with 91 felony charges – are politically motivated to restrict his ability to run for president in 2024.

Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would realize the hypocrisy of Mr. Trump’s current ploy if they knew he never once declared “witch-hunt” in the 62 lawsuits he filed and lost while contesting the 2020 election. Note: Trump-appointed judges were among the 80-plus magistrates who dismissed his election fraud lawsuits (The Telegraph).

Let’s not forget nine jurors (6 males and 3 females) and not the judge awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million because of Mr. Trump’s sexual abuse and defamation; a fact-driven vs. witch-hunt verdict. A federal judge ruled the ex-president’s comments about Ms. Carroll were libelous. A second trial (Carroll v. Trump) is set to start Jan. 15, the day of the Iowa GOP caucus.

MAGA-Trumpers probably haven’t let it sink in that Judge Arthur Engoron of New York’s Supreme Court 1^st Judicial District already ruled that Donald, his sons and the Trump Organization repeatedly committed fraud during the last decade; again, a fact-driven vs. a witch-hunt decision.

Furthermore, Mr. Trump never once – to the best of my knowledge -- cried wolf or uttered “witch-hunt” in the 4,000-plus lawsuits that’s encompassed his life. Arizona Central-USA Today notes Mr. Trump has been the plaintiff 2,121 times and 1,929 as a defendant (2023). The media’s ongoing analysis of Trump’s legal findings are broken down as follows: 1) 17 political campaign cases; six within the last year, 2) 190 government and tax cases, 3) 85 product branding and trademark cases, 4) 1,863 casino-related cases, 5) 208 class action cases over contract disputes tied to real estate developments, 6) 130 employee-employment cases, 7) 63 golf club-related cases, 8) 14 media outlet or individual defamation cases, 9) 697 personal injury cases, 10) 622 real estate cases and 11) 206 other miscellaneous cases.

And, let’s remember “Donald Trump has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 25 women since the 1970’s” (Eliza Relman, Business Insider, May 1, 2020). Since past actions are the best predictor of future behavior, it’s not surprising Mr. Trump has not yet made good on his promise “all of these liars (females) will be sued after the election (2016) is over.” Again, crying wolf.

Here’s a quick review – thanks to a Dec. 6 Politico report – of the criminal cases currently before Mr. Trump that appear to be the real deal vs. a witch-hunt: 1) in Washington, DC, four felony counts for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, 2) 13 felony counts for election interference in Georgia, 3) in New York, 34 felony counts in connection with hush money payments to a porn star and 4) in Florida, 40 felony counts for hoarding US classified documents and impeding government’s efforts to retrieve them as per law.

Might Mr. Trump be crying “witch-hunt” and his lawyers purposely throwing as many counter arguments onto the court systems so the cases won’t have a verdict until after the Nov. 5, 2024 election? Of course.

Trump’s history of life-long legal issues – starting at age 27 (Oct. 15, 1973; violation of Fair Housing Act of 1968) -- should cause any registered Republican, independent or Democrat with an ounce of brain matter to think a little more than once (maybe 2-3-4-5 times) about whether a man like Mr. Trump is fit to lead the greatest country in the world and abide by the Constitution and laws.

The words of Theodore Roosevelt are fitting: “No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it.”