Trump’s Trial(s): “We are all going to be living very fast very soon”

The curtain is finally rising on the spectacle of a former U.S. President playing the leading role of criminal defendant.  Trials, even high profile ones (like the recent Murdaugh case) tend to actually be pretty boring as they progress, even when televised and Trump’s might not be.  Then again, events could snowball and dominate the news in the months ahead, including into the primaries which is the GOP’s (the non-MAGA part) worst fear.  There are darker things to consider beyond “all Trump all the time” news coverage” like we have had entirely too much of in the past.

I’ll get to the quote (from a Marine who would wound up dying on Okinawa during WWII) in the title and why I used it.  However let’s start with what we know and don’t know.  We know that Trump has been indicted by a grand jury in New York.  We know he will appear in court tomorrow to be: Taken into custody and like any criminal defendant processed – fingerprinted, mugshot(?), etc. and later appear in court for formal presentation of the charges in front of a judge.  He, and the rest of us will hear the sobering words “The State Of New York vs. Donald J. Trump.”

Many a defendant, full of bravado has heard something similar, “the State of” or worse, “the United States” vs. THEM.  Some still hold onto a measure of bravado.  Most, even if they don’t show it experience the ole “pucker factor” – enormous resources are now officially going to be brought to bear in subsequent days, weeks and sometimes months (if the charges are complex) for one purpose.  To convict them and punish them.  Most of the time that punishment means prison.  It becomes real in that moment in a way no one who hasn’t experienced it can fully understand.  Up to that point many have rationalized, sometimes to the point of delusion it would never get this far.  But, as the line from the movie Bad Boys says with the explosion ringing in the ears and looking at what’s just happened “The sh!t just got real.”

For a spoiled all his life, rich boy bully who’s gotten away with so much his entire life I think Trump might wish he’d worn double Depends.

So here’s what we know.  A Grand Jury returned a True Bill and credible reporting indicates it includes indictments on multiple (upwards of thirty) charges.  We know Trump is now in NYC and will present himself tomorrow, in the vernacular voluntarily surrender himself to the authorities. (And his world will change forever)  We know he will be processed, the usual stuff that happens when even white collar defendants are arrested.  And later he will appear in that courtroom to face a judge – as a criminal defendant.

That’s what we know, but it’s all we know.  Keep that in mind.  Here’s a bunch of stuff we don’t know about what will happen starting the moment the case is formally called:

• We don’t know how Trump will react in the moment or the remainder of his appearance.
• We don’t know what Trump and just as importantly his lawyers will say and do since this is Trump and he’s proven he thinks he knows better than any lawyer what to do.  Including lawyers he’s had who are way the hell better than anyone he’s currently got.
• We don’t know what the indictment(s) will actually contain.  It’s conventional wisdom that Bragg will use laws beyond the basic misdemeanor charge to turn the case into a felony level prosecution.  But how/what charges?  And will they have a strong legal foundation?
• Here’s a big one: We don’t know if the judge will issue a gag order, much less how strict it might be or the penalty for violating it which Trump is sure to do.
• We don’t know what motions both the prosecution and defense will file, and therefore when we will be treated to everyone meeting back in court for a “status conference.”  Much less an actual trial date.

That’s just some of the stuff we don’t know, and it’s limited to the NYC prosecution.

Here’s the real question, and it’s huge: There are three other criminal investigations taking place.  One is another state level case in Georgia, run by Fani Willis, and then there are the two federal investigations (one regarding classified documents and other other about January 6) being run by Jack Smith.  We assume at some point charges will be filed on all of these, but the plain fact is we don’t really know.  Or when charges in these additional cases might be filed.  However, there’s something else and as promised it relates to the quote in the title of this piece.

There will be protests.  Both for Trump and by those who will take great delight in using a theme of “Lock HIM up!”  My prediction is the latter groups(s) will outnumber MAGAs. “Bigly.”  For the most part both tomorrow (both in NYC and later back down outside his cheesy resort in FL) and in the future they will mostly be pretty lame.  So I’m not concerned about some large, J6 style protest or even a lesser version with only one or two thousand people taking place.  For all the prep work that’s gone on up in NYC I really don’t think the powers-that-be up there are terribly concerned either.  Nor will those in DC or Atlanta if and when indictments are handed down in those places.  A big show of force will be more than enough to make the typical goober MAGA asshat keep his or her distance.  Not to mention most of those who might be able to organize something big are already in jail, on trial or about to be on trial.  Or trying to hide out.  Basically, they’ve got problems and in no small part because Trump left ALL of them hanging.

No pardons.  For any of them.  I sometimes amuse myself thinking of some of these traitors in that moment when it really hit home to them, with more force than a punch to the gut or a kick in the crotch that Trump threw them, all of them under the bus! (I take my entertainment where I can find it!)

No, what worries me is something I’ve heard some pundits that have contacts in DHS and other relevant federal and state agencies is the prospect of “lone wolf” types out there.  I used to worry that Erik Prince might have a special squad ready to carry out assassinations but after the failure of J6 and perhaps even before the actual riot started he began having second thoughts about supporting Trump.  He’s older now, rich beyond measure and his evil empire has international reach.  At this point I think he just wants to be forgotten by Americans and frankly except for conventional business is done with this country.

However that still leaves a lot of fervent people with warped minds, warped enough and mentally diseased enough to think Trump speaks directly to them and it’s their “duty” to act on his behalf.  Violently.  Worse, some of them have deadly knowledge and skills learned not just in the truly hard core militia compounds but in the military and law enforcement.   Experts don’t talk about his problem much publicly but they talk about it a LOT privately.

The treat is out there.  It is real.  And dangerous beyond belief.

Worse still, the one person who might have some effect in calling off violence (not that he would – he will do anything to save his ass including burning down this country) won’t, even if for some unfathomable reason he develops a conscience and wants to be able to call off everyone thinking and planning about taking defense of Trump to unspeakably violent levels.  No, there will for the rest of some people’s lives be a threat of someday, someone who fell under Trump’s spell doing them or their loved ones harm.

Events will now take on a life of their own.  Now that the dam has been broken (so to speak) and Trump is in the criminal justice system as a defendant he will almost certainly face new charges both in NY city and state and in other places.  Jack Smith has him dead to rights on the documents case and I for one wonder WTF is taking so long to file formal charges.  But things are moving now when it comes to (finally) holding Trump accountable for a handful of his countless (criminal) misdeeds.  It’s going to be a rough ride at times and no one knows what the consequences both good and bad will be.

That brings me back to the title. The quote was from WWII Journalist, Author and Historian William Manchester who served as a Marine in the Pacific, and fought on Okinawa.  He wrote a sometimes criticized memoir to exorcise demons I (sadly) didn’t begin to understand until after my father died.  A great many Americans who served in WII were haunted by their experiences.  What they’d seen and what they’d done.

Goodbye Darkness was criticized by some but both near the beginning and end of the book Manchester himself makes clear that while battles and various events are depicted accurately, he and his unit did not actually fight in some of those battles where he describes his unit’s actions – that he took artistic license to make things more interesting to readers.  He also said folks should be wary of the recollections of combat veterans in general, as what they went through so often distorts the lens with which they look at the past.  He also importantly notes that he suffered a head trauma which further makes his own recollections suspect.  However, he grew up not enjoying sports and cars but books and writing and was destined to become a writer of some sort.  Like most such people that meant keeping journals/diaries and he did so during his time in the Corps, even during the battle for Okinawa.  So, he’s got a contemporaneous records of some of it.

One thing he wrote about was a “bull session” his unit had during the time leading up to actually being in battle.  Every infantry battalion had an intelligence section and people assigned to them all scored highly on aptitude tests.  And included people who’d been to college and Manchester’s was made up mostly of college guys including a physicist from MIT.  Wally Moon. One evening the subject of time came up and Moon took over.  The physicist in him came forth like a professor lecturing a class and he covered a lot of ground.  More to the point Moon noted that living creatures including humans have some sort of internal clock, and each of us have our own rhythms.   Moon went on to note how sometimes time seems to lag, and sometimes speeds up.  (Think about it – I’ll guarantee you’ve experienced this at moments in your own life)

When this bull session took place the central Pacific offensive had picked up a lot of steam and a lot of ground and was starting to bend towards McCarthur’s offensive working its way up the coast.  As members of an intelligence section everyone could do two things – understand what officers were talking about an understand maps.  While they’d steadily moved from one “secured” place to another all knew the time would come when they would be committed to battle, and Iwo Jima and Okinawa were sitting there.  Fighting had gotten worse with each battle and given the importance of both places to the Japanese they promised to be the worst yet.  No one who will likely find themselves fighting in a war knows what will happen to themselves or those around them.  About the only thing they can be sure of it that if they make it through it will be an intense, searing experience.  And for those fighting in the Pacific, that meant very, very strong odds of being wounded or killed.

It was against that backdrop Moon wound up his lecture with talk of internal clocks and rhythms.  They all pretty much knew that any of them who made it through any smaller intervening battles would wind up on Iwo or Okinawa.  Moon harkened back to earlier days like when they arrived at Guadalcanal long after the fighting was over.  He said time had lagged for them back then, but looking ahead that he had the feeling “We are all going to be living very fast very soon.”

That’s where I think we are right now.  Time sure as hell has lagged waiting for Trump to finally wind up in court as a defendant.  Hell, it’s dragged like Captain Quint’s (from Jaws) fingernails dragging down that chalkboard in slow motion and on a continuous loop.  But come tomorrow afternoon, if as so many predict the arraignment in NY is just the beginning (and don’t forget Trump will have to appear in NYC in the E. Jean Carroll case later this month) we are at the start of a parade of trials and courtroom appearances by Trump.

If you think there’s been outrage from the evening Fox hosts and far worse from the batshit insane other RWNJ outlets you ain’t seen nothin yet!   How long will they be able to keep it amped up?  And what about the other stuff likely to come?  I still say when it comes to large groups of people holding big protests Team Trump has shot its wad.

But even if not on a daily basis, Trump and his minions including those prime time Fox hosts will keep hitting the volume up button on the outrage machine.  Even doxxing people.  Literally targeting them for the “Lone Wolves” they know, they KNOW are out there.  Again, we don’t know how events will unfold.  There are still far more questions than answers and it will literally take time to find out the latter.

However, the proverbial train leaves the station tomorrow.  Will it steadily pick up speed?  Will it sometimes speed up and other times slow down?  Will it speed out of control and result in one or more wrecks that do untold damage such as the one in East Palestine?  We simply don’t know.  However, events might wind up overwhelming us, and in turn our political and justice systems.

In other words, I have a feeling “We are all going to be living very fast very soon.”

Support the site with a subscription today and see no more ads!

Go Ad-free Now!