Donald Trump’s wealth, power, and fame have led to key figures seeking a share of his reflected glory turning against him. Trump’s former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has met federal prosecutors multiple times and undermined his narrative about a stolen election.
Former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis has reached a plea deal with Georgia prosecutors, admitting to aiding and abetting false statements.
The election subversion prosecution follows a racketeering case, with smaller witnesses receiving reduced sentences. Ellis’ guilty plea is concerning for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who also served as a Trump lawyer.
This repudiation of Ellis’ behavior could show that truth matters in court, a level that the US political system cannot match.
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Cohen has already gone to jail for tax fraud, making false statements to Congress, and campaign finance violations – some of which were linked to his work for Trump before he launched his political career.
Cohen once vowed to take a bullet for his former boss but has left no doubt that he’s been itching to testify against him for many months.
While his conviction raises credibility issues about his testimony, Cohen implicated Trump on Tuesday, saying his former boss directed him to inflate his net worth on financial statements. “Heck of a reunion,” Cohen told reporters after testifying under Trump’s gaze.
Trump’s dominance in the GOP presidential race is being threatened by legal dramas, including those involving former associates who have turned against him.
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Trump has pleaded not guilty to these cases, but there are signs that courtroom pressure is beginning to grate on him.
Trump compared himself to Nelson Mandela, who spent 27 years in prison for opposing the racist apartheid system in South Africa.
Trump’s persecution complex is revealing, as he is portraying himself as a barricade against a government he claims is weaponized against him and his supporters.
The idea that he is a political martyr being unfairly targeted by the Biden administration may be his only credible campaign tactic.
Meadows, a former North Carolina congressman, has been granted immunity by special counsel Jack Smith and met federal prosecutors multiple times.
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He met Smith’s team at least three times this year and told investigators he did not believe the election was stolen and that Trump was being “dishonest” in claiming victory shortly after polls closed in 2020.
The reported details of Meadows’ testimony could be hugely damaging for Trump, as a fundamental plank of his defense relies on the notion that he sincerely believed the election was stolen and that his actions were not criminal because they were an exercise of his right to free speech.
It has long been the case that while those around Trump in business and politics often find themselves slipping deep into legal trouble, he skips free.
The apparent decisions of Meadows, Ellis, and Cohen—together with the mass of legal threats now facing the former president—suggest that the charmed life is about to meet its biggest challenge yet.
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