The Vise Is Tightening
It increasingly not a question of "if" but "when" Donald Trump will be indicted. Also, progressive continue to drop the ball on anti-Semitism and a great musical interlude!
I’m Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality of American politics. If you received this email - or you are a free subscriber - and you’d like to subscribe: you can sign up below.
So I need your help. Lately, I’ve been writing longer posts that combine a few shorter column ideas. That’s the format I used at the Boston Globe while writing my weekly newsletter. But I wonder if I should break these longer posts into smaller daily pieces. So, rather than do one long piece, should I do two different posts to be sent out on separate days? I’m curious to hear what you think. So if you can take a second to answer the poll below, I’d greatly appreciate it!
So today is the final public hearing of the January 6 Committee, and I’ll be live tweeting it and discussing it tomorrow in the Friday Zoom Chat at 12:30. So bring your questions! Here’s the link.
It’s Getting Hot In Here
This week, there’s a new story in the Washington Post about Donald Trump’s absconding with classified material, and it’s a major blockbuster. Apparently, the FBI has a source inside the Trump camp.
A Trump employee has told federal agents about moving boxes of documents at Mar-a-Lago at the specific direction of the former president, according to people familiar with the investigation, who say the witness account — combined with security-camera footage — offers key evidence of Donald Trump’s behavior as investigators sought the return of classified material.
This, in itself, would be a huge deal, but what the source is saying about Trump is really, really bad for the former president.
In the first interview, these people said, the witness denied handling sensitive documents or the boxes that might contain such documents. As they gathered evidence, agents decided to re-interview the witness, and the witness’s story changed dramatically, these people said. In the second interview, the witness described moving boxes at Trump’s request.
The witness is now considered a key part of the Mar-a-Lago investigation, these people said, offering details about the former president’s alleged actions and instructions to subordinates that could have been an attempt to thwart federal officials’ demands for the return of classified and government documents.
Multiple witnesses have told the FBI they tried to talk Trump into cooperating with the National Archives and Records Administration and the Justice Department as those agencies for months sought the return of sensitive or historical government records, people familiar with the situation said.
But entreaties from advisers and lawyers who pushed for Trump to hand the documents back fell on deaf ears with Trump, these people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Trump grew angry this spring after a House Oversight Committee investigation was launched, telling aides they’d “screwed up” the situation, according to people who heard his comments. “They’re my documents,” Trump said, according to an aide who spoke to him.
That Trump mishandled classified material and failed to abide by the presidential records act seems obvious, but if you’re going to indict a former president, you need to aim higher — like an obstruction of justice charge. While I’m not a lawyer (though I’ve watched multiple episodes of Law and Order), I struggle to see how the information from this source doesn’t mean the DOJ has Trump dead to rights on obstruction.
Trump knew that the National Archives and Records Administration and the Justice Department wanted the documents in his possession. Yet, he actively thwarted them by insisting (falsely) that the papers were his and then claiming that he returned all the requested documents, even though he hadn’t. All these claims about retroactive classification and executive privilege are bullshit. Like so many narcissists, Trump recoiled at someone telling him what to do — and refused to go along with it. (The Post also reports that multiple Trump advisors “have told the FBI they tried to talk Trump into cooperating.” Last week, one of Trump’s lawyers, Christina Bobb, spoke to federal investigators, and it sounds like she (and others) may have thrown the former president under the bus. If your own lawyers are diming you out, that’s never a good sign).
But now we have new and potentially damaging information that Trump did more than throw a tantrum over the DOJ requests: he directed staffers to move the documents, which suggests that he knew he wasn’t supposed to have them and that he made a purposeful effort to conceal them from federal investigators. The fact that he asked his aide to move the documents after repeated requests to turn them over would strongly indicate consciousness of guilt on Trump’s part.
The evidence of criminal wrongdoing is overwhelming. Considering that Attorney General Merrick Garland has repeatedly said — regarding the Trump case — that no man is above the law, how could he possibly justify not bringing charges that in any other similar situation would be levied? Throw in the fact that you have those inside Trump’s camp implicating him in wrongdoing, and DOJ has one helluva case against the former president. At this point, I would be stunned if Trump is not indicted for the document scandal. As I’ve written before, I also expect he will likely face criminal charges for trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election (either in Georgia or in federal court).
So if you think America is divided now, truly we ain’t seen nothing. A federal trial of Trump would undoubtedly be a circus, but the potential for violence is genuine. I say this as someone with an unblemished history of opposing threat-mongering in all its forms. The American melodrama around Trump began seven years ago and is quickly reaching its nadir. Buckle up.
Also, read Franklin Foer on why he thinks Garland will almost certainly indict Trump.
Do Not Come All Ye Faithful
I had a few thoughts on the latest Kanye West controversy:
More than a decade ago, President Barack Obama offered the definitive word on Kanye (now “Ye”) West—he’s a “jackass.”In the 13 years since Obama made that comment … West has given the world plenty more reasons to call him names.
But this weekend, Ye hit a new low. In a since-removed tweet, he wrote, “I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.” He denied that coule be be antisemitic “because black people are actually Jew” and then said, “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”
But, by and large, West was condemned, which makes sense. He has made so many offensive comments and bizarre statements over the years that calling him out is the low-hanging fruit of virtue signaling. At this point, it’s practically a reflexive response to West’s rantings.
The much harder lift: being an ally of Jews and a critic of antisemitism in all its forms. On that front, both Republicans and Democrats, right and left, continue to fall flat.
Here’s the thing, I largely expect Republicans to play the Jew-baiting card. They do it to every other non-white minority group; why should Jews be excluded? They've been doing it with George Soros as the bogeyman for years. But the left (or, more accurately, those who find a home in the Democratic camp) keeps dropping the ball.
One of the more striking responses to the West imbroglio came from Jewish comedian Sarah Silverman who tweeted to her more than 12 million followers, “Kanye threatened the Jews yesterday on Twitter, and it’s not even trending. Why do mostly only Jews speak up about Jewish hate? The silence is so loud.” Rather than support, Silverman’s cri de couer sparked a furious backlash because she allegedly insulted those who have been critical of West.
American Jews might have hoped that their allies would respond to concerns about rising antisemitism, and a lack of allyship, with empathy and attentiveness. They might have expected that those in the same political and ideological camp as Jews would acknowledge and learn from the feeling of abandonment and disregard for antisemitism that many of us have felt long before Ye’s Twitter outburst. In short, they wouldn’t make it about them, but rather us…Jews.
Today, it’s largely accepted on the political left that the appropriate response to those recounting racist experiences is listening to and learning from the aggrieved party. But Jews are rarely afforded the same respect. Our experiences with antisemitism or our feelings of isolation are questioned and dismissed.
Perhaps it’s because most Jews have light skin and, thus, are seen as protected by white privilege. Or maybe it’s because we are seen as a community that is powerful and influential (another antisemitic stereotype), or perhaps it’s just implicit, unacknowledged anti-Jewish bias. But whatever the reason, in the hierarchy of concern over prejudice, we’re typically near the bottom of the pecking order.
I know I’m a bit of a broken record on this question — and whenever I write these pieces, they get a minimal number of clicks — but the point needs to keep being made. Jews are under assault in America. The number of hate crimes against us has risen dramatically. Synagogues have been attacked, and other shuls have been turned into fortresses to protect against future assaults. In 2021, one in four Jews reported experiencing anti-Semitism. These attacks are coming from white supremacists and, in places like New York City, people of color. If we can’t rely on the right to defend us, it means that without the left, we are isolated and on our own. Silverman’s tweet reflects that growing feeling of abandonment and disregard for anti-Semitism in America. As Silverman rightly put it, “the silence is so loud.”
What’s Going On
Five China experts offer some thoughts on how to avoid a war over Taiwan.
Fascinating report on how laws requiring mandatory child abuse reporting may do more harm than good.
Alex Jones is a horrendous human being. One billion dollars for what he’s done to the families of the Sandy Hook victims is too low.
Interesting column by Erika Smith on the fallout from the LA City Council racism scandal.
Musical Interlude
It’s a day early, but tomorrow is the 28th anniversary of possibly my favorite moment ever at a Grateful Dead show — 10.14.94 at Madison Square Garden and this epic rendition of “Scarlet-Fire.” I’ve listened to many renditions of this musical suite, and if this isn’t the best version, it’s certainly in the top 10. Listen to the end and the lengthy crowd roar after the band finishes. I remember this moment so vividly and the feeling that I had just witnessed something truly incredible and historic. My other memory is that at the old Garden, the front of the mezzanine was a walkway, and you could stand in the front, grab the railing, and have a fantastic view of the stage. At some point during the “Fire on the Mountain,” I glanced over at a guy standing about 10 feet away from me. We didn’t say a word to each other, but we both had that look on our faces, like, “is this really happening?”
I didn't answer your poll since what matters to me more is what's in the Subject Line. So I can choose what to read when I have time.
I'd like to see more than the newspaper headline style, so I know what's coming up.
Short ones might help but the more email in the box, the more stuffed it is...