(DON THOMPSON / iNFOnews.ca)

OPINION

A lawyer defending former president Donald Trump in any of the four trials charging him with 91 felonies probably feels a little like the guy who farts in a full elevator. There’s no place to hide, everyone knows who did it.

Yes, there is a presumption of innocence in a court of law, the principle that a person accused of a crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. That is likely of little solace to neither Trump and his lawyers, nor his 18 indicted co-conspirators.

That’s because literally hundreds of millions of folks have seen and heard evidence against them…videotape and audiotape aired on various cable news shows for more than two years. No doubt there will be lots of handwringing when the juries deliberate these criminal cases sometime next year…most of those hands belonging to Trump and his fellow co-conspirators.

Roger Stone, a Right-Wing political consultant, lobbyist and convicted felon, even hired a documentary film production company that recorded the inception of this conspiracy to overturn a valid election. The ignorance and stupidity are only exceeded by the arrogance of this gang that couldn’t shoot straight.

Even a great writer would be severely challenged to match the real life actions of these dolts. A master of fiction would reason that no one could be that stupid…that thoughtless…that ridiculously comedic…and yet, that hideously corrupt.

If you haven’t read the four indictments of Donald Trump…you should. Any reasonable person - imagine someone unplugged from social and news media for the past two-and-a-half years - would inescapably conclude every one of these folks charged with felonies is guilty. The evidence is that clear…that convincing…that irrefutable.

MAGA cult members will discover that Donald Trump in a court of law…charged with 91 felonies…is very different than the orange-tinged bully they see, hear and love at political rallies and in media interviews.

Courts don’t allow bluster. Courts don’t allow lies, when you’ve sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Anything less is perjury. Courts don’t allow witness intimidation or tampering. Your freedom of speech that allows you to impugn and lie about someone at a rally or on television…ends when you testify in court.

So, the things that Donald Trump does - everything he shows any talent for - aren’t possible in court. That pretty much makes Donald Trump defenceless. No Trump lawyer will ever put their client - Donald Trump - on the witness stand. A man who lies like others breathe would simply dig an even deeper pit…one he could never escape.

There are about 30 un-indicted co-conspirators…likely those who have agreed to testify to avoid prosecution. There are scores of other witnesses - people who were in the rooms and on phones when things were said and done - and lots of videotape and audiotape segments that capture conspiratorial and other criminal behaviours.

Maybe - just maybe - some of the millions of people who suffer from the delusion that Donald Trump is a successful businessman…or a real Billionaire…or someone who cares about anyone other than himself…will have to face if not embrace truth and justice.

Justice is not easily accepted or even recognized by the MAGA Mob. They voted for and still support Donald Trump…a liar, a cheat, a swindler, a conspirator who undermines democracy to this very day.

They hold Trump up as a shining example of what it is to be an American…they worship him. They applaud, too, the vast array of clowns who ride with him…Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Jeffrey Clark, Mark Meadows, Jenna Ellis, Kenneth Chesebro, Roger Stone and a host of other folks too stupid and too untalented to find meaningful work.

The MAGA Mob doesn’t know them but they hate poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, slain Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick or Capital Police Officer Howard Liebengood, who guarded the Capitol for 15 years and took his own life three days after the Jan. 6 insurrection.

The Trump folks don’t see justice…don’t understand justice…and don’t want justice. They simply want to win…and will do anything to reach that goal. Otherwise, Republicans would care beyond the question of Trump’s electability…like why he led a conspiracy to overturn a valid election.

Millions of these Trump Cult members will not accept the findings of the four juries that will judge Donald Trump. Many of them will harass the good and decent folks who stood up for American democracy…they will continue to threaten them…with death.

It is time that Americans who love freedom and democracy accept the ugly fact that millions of people who live in America and identify as Republicans will once again support and vote for Donald Trump. They find facts inconvenient…they are more afraid of books than guns…they see conspiracies in every American institution…in every non-Christian religion…in every organization that includes people of colour.

I’m not going out too far on a limb here…I predict Donald Trump will be found guilty of scores of felonies during the coming year. But it won’t matter to any of his Republican Cult members…they hate all the people and policies that Donald Trump pretends to hate to garner their support…and they will be fooled again.

Trump wants to be like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un and Abdullah Aziz Al Saud…dictators he admires…and he knows members of the MAGA Mob - like him - are self absorbed and offer the ignorance he needs to help him end American democracy.

— Don Thompson, an American awaiting Canadian citizenship, lives in Vernon and in Florida. In a career that spans more than 40 years, Don has been a working journalist, a speechwriter and the CEO of an advertising and public relations firm. A passionate and compassionate man, he loves the written word as much as fine dinners with great wines.

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