Back when Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg first indicted Donald Trump, I remember very distinctly warning Democrats that this was not going to go the way they were hoping.
Sure, they may get a conviction – although Bragg’s case itself was a stretch from the jump and other cases appear to be struggling or falling apart completely – but in the meantime, they not only secured Trump’s nomination for GOP nominee this year, they also united the Republican Party in ways they haven’t fully grasped yet.
There are some signs of fracturing still – the House GOP is its own hot mess – but there are plenty of Republicans who are on the same page in one way: If Biden can get away with endorsing or even having a hand in his political opponents getting investigated and indicted, then so can Donald Trump.
Axios has a scoop this morning essentially confirming that this is something Trump and the Republican Party want to do.
Republicans’ impeachment probe of President Biden is unraveling because of a lack of evidence — but their work could become the basis for federal investigations and even prosecutions of the Biden family if Donald Trump wins re-election, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Trump has vowed retribution against his enemies if he wins in November. House Republicans have struggled to show Biden has done anything illegal, but people close to Trump are still plotting to use the Justice Department against Biden and his family.
- A source close to the Trump campaign said that “everything you have seen from the Biden DOJ,” in terms of the charges against Trump, “you can expect to see from the Trump DOJ.”
- One Trump ally argued that there is precedent for a second Trump administration to investigate and prosecute the Bidens: the current federal charges against Trump.
This is what the Democratic Party has (once again) wrought. They decided that they had the power and the ability to weaponize the legal system against a political opponent. The GOP, then, has the same power and they are absolutely going to use it. Why wouldn’t they?
When it comes to the Bidens, there is plenty of smoke, though Republicans have yet to really determine where the fire is. Sure, the Congressional investigations are stalling, but if the current trajectory of the polls bears out and Trump wins in 2024, then 2025 is going to absolutely be a revenge tour, and Democrats only have themselves to blame.
Keep in mind that this is exactly how the judicial nomination fight went down in the Senate. Harry Reid decided that he had every right to use the nuclear option to force through judicial nominees for Obama, and the GOP said “What’s good for the goose…” before doing the same for Supreme Court nominees.
There is a basic rule in politics more people should be referencing but few people actually do: Never assume or use any power that you don’t want your political opponents to have access to. Just because you hold that office or position now doesn’t mean the other party won’t have it someday, and everything you did with that office or position they can, too.
Good luck, Democrats. If Biden loses in November, you only have yourselves to blame for what comes next.
