The Indictment

Last week, the former president was indicted in the State of New York, after days of media speculation as to whether it would occur. The nature of the indictment stems from his payment of hush money to a porn star/prostitute, an act that has already led to one person’s imprisonment for tax matters and campaign finance violations. I am dubious about this action, not only because it serves to increase his campaign donation base with the offer of free media as the victim of all victims…but because I think he is going to walk. I said as much on Twitter—and if you click on the tweet below, check out the comments.

Bryan McGrath @ConsWahoo

He's gonna walk. And be stronger for it. This indictment is garbage, and we will all suffer for it.

It seems that there are folks who believe that since I haven’t seen the indictment, I cannot know that it is garbage. I suppose that is technically true, because I have not seen it. But if the Lords of the Media are to be believed, Mr. Bragg has been building a case based on the circumstances above for some time now, and there is no shortage of speculation as to the strength (or lack) of his case, putting aside the “novelty” of the charge itself. The great Jonah Goldberg has some thoughts on the “you haven’t seen the indictment” yet meme:

Jonah Goldberg @JonahDispatch

Just a reminder that if you’re going to criticize Republicans for condemning the indictment before seeing it, the same criticism can be leveled at Democrats *celebrating* it without seeing it, too.

I get that there is some “whataboutism” going on here, but there are a whole lot of endzone dances going on JUST because there is an indictment…without realizing how ruinous it will be if the indictment does not turn to conviction.

John Edwards

We only have to go back to the John Edwards case (2011)* for a taste of how difficult it is to make charges like this stick, and when it comes to evading legal responsibility, no one comes close to the Mango Messiah (thank you, Matt Labash). Forget about legal responsibility; making ANY responsibility stick to Trump is a fools errand, not only because of his reptilian wiliness, but also his legions of mouth-breathing adherents that hold him to no standard. Remember “grab them by the pussy”? How many of us thought that it was ALL OVER for him when that came out? I sure did.

The problem for me here is that IF we are going to get behind the prosecution of a former president, it had better be for crimes that are either SO heinous as to create dangerous future precedents if not prosecuted, or crimes that are obvious and easily proven at trial. The Stormy Daniels hush money payments as possible unclaimed campaign contributions applies in neither case. I read Ramesh Ponnuru’s Washington Post editorial this morning hoping I’d be aligned with his thoughts (I think Ramesh is a principled thinker), but I came away unsatisfied. While we agree that THIS prosecution is unwise, I’d hoped to see him point to other ongoing legal issues that Trump faces that ARE worth prosecution—specifically the federal investigation into his attempts to overturn the election and his potential involvement in the attempted coup on January 6 and the State of Georgia’s ongoing look into the degree to which he may have engaged in unlawful election tampering. Both of these investigations pass the test I suggested above, and if prosecutors bring cases forward, would be worth the turmoil involved in trying them.

*Edwards had used campaign funds to pay the mother of his love child for her silence. His defense was that it was not to hide the embarrassment that it would cause his political campaign—but that it was to hide it from the personal embarrassment it would cause when his wife found out. He got a hung jury, and the government declined to pursue further. I fully expect a similar defense out of Trump.

A Trip To Lowes

My father is famous in our family for having described me as “not knowing the business end of a screwdriver”, and while this charge was scurrilous and without merit, it DOES touch at a relative weakness. I am not handy. I am not mechanical. I once put in a dimmer switch and believed that I should be included in Her Majesty’s Honors List. Not only am I not GOOD at home/car/small engine repair, I have little interest in those activities.

This approach to life is expensive, as I must pay other people to do things that were I inclined, I might do myself. This is my problem, not yours. Sometimes, either convenience or timing require me to put on my big boy pants and perform some handy act. The light switch referenced above occurred over thirty years ago, and the number of acts like it number in the single digits.

When I choose (or am forced) into the labors of domesticity, I must occasionally equip myself, and we here in Talbot County, MD have our very own Lowes. I go in the Lowes unaccompanied on very rare occasions. Refilling grill propane is one of them. Buying birdseed and weed killer are two others. In the years I’ve lived here, I’ve bought a drier, a dishwasher, and a freezer there, along with two grills. There is a very handy automated key-maker there, a contraption that I believe should earn its inventor a Nobel Prize. I know where all of these things are, and when I go to Lowes for any one of them, I do so with measured confidence. Because I can find them myself, I do not have to reveal my inadequacy to one of the (mostly) men who walk about in red aprons dispensing the wisdom of the ages. I imagine them sizing me up as I stride confidently to the Roundup stash and saying “there goes a man who does things, who does not need my help”. I leave with my self-respect intact.

Then there are the other trips to Lowes, the ones in which I follow in the wake of “she who in our household is handy”. I have watched in utter amazement for fifteen and a half years as this woman has performed acts of sorcery far beyond my pitiful skill. She is the Lady of Lowes, not only aware of its many treasures, but also possessed of a steely confidence that enables her without hesitation to approach the red aproned sages and engage them as an equal. No, that doesn’t quite capture it. She is the boss, a benevolent and lovely boss, but the boss. It is quite a sight to see.

I’ll never forget one day when my presence was requested on one of her sojourns to Lowes, when she walked around a certain part of the (immense, cavernous) store, clearly knowing what she wanted and assuming that it was in the general vicinity of where she was. When she came upon it after about thirty seconds of searching, I was duly impressed, as I cannot find anything in Lowes unless I already know where it is. But even more impressive was the area she was standing in. Did you know that Lowes has a section devoted to replacement hardware for lamps? Knock me over. I just thought that when some element of a lamp had gone bad, you set it out with the rubbish and purchase a new lamp. This concept of interchangeable parts…why it was DEVILRY!

We went to Lowes the other day (another request to accompany the She-Goddess of Home Improvement) to buy dowels. And hooks. And a very small hand saw. Apparently, these implements were critical to her ongoing renovation of one of the upstairs bedrooms. I suppose on some general level, if you asked me “Hey Bryan, where would you go to buy dowels?” I would likely say, “Lowes”. I wouldn’t have the foggiest idea where to look, and I would aimlessly wander about until I swallowed enough pride to approach an associate. She knew where to find dowels. Of course.

As we approached the checkout, I had an epiphany. She really didn’t need me to help her in any way associated with this visit. She knew what she wanted. She knew where to find it. She knew how much of it she needed. I was along for modest entertainment value and because we are an us, my weaknesses notwithstanding. I suddenly felt less inadequate next to the examples of manliness confidently spouting where one might find caulk guns, or motor oil (LOWES HAS CAR STUFF!).

Oh…I also get a military discount. So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.