While some critics prepare for Donald Trump’s return to the White House, others are in a position to fight.
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As Donald Trump is on the verge of endowing the U. S. police apparatus with loyal people who would possibly implement a revenge program on his behalf, some of his most prominent critics are bracing for the imaginable consequences they would possibly face.
Recently, Georgia Representative Barry Loudermilk used his perch atop a House Administration Subcommittee to issue a report that called for the incoming Trump justice department to investigate and prosecute former House January 6 committee vice-chair Liz Cheney for what he describes as “witness tampering” — in actuality the then-Wyoming congresswoman’s efforts to help ex-Mark Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson find new counsel after she was pressured to withhold information from the panel.
Trump has also called for all members of the now-defunct House panel to be jailed, and has also called for political critics and warring parties to face fraudulent sanctions.
He filed a lawsuit against the Des Moines Register and the Iowa-based pollster whose pre-election survey found — incorrectly — that he was set to lose the Hawkeye State to Vice President Kamala Harris by a double-digit margin.
His allies, adding that his designated FBI director, Kash Patel, have also become accustomed to suing the media and his critics (on frivolous grounds) and by January 20, Patel and his MAGA friends would possibly have their hands free to throw the matter out. The total weight of their efforts. The U. S. government opposes others it deems insufficiently flattering of the new president.
The list goes on, adding an organization that Patel named in an appendix to his memoirs, Government Gangsters, as members of a “deep executive state. “
The former National Security Council staffer has repeatedly claimed in media appearances that such persons, including the two most recent Democratic presidents, the three most recent Democratic presidential nominees and other prominent law enforcement and intelligence officials who’ve incurred ire from Republicans over the years, deserve be jailed.
Now, some of Trump’s top critics are preparing for his return to power. Others are in a position to fight.
Mark Zaid, a Washington, D. C. , national security lawyer who has dealt with whistleblowers and critics, went so far as to say that some of his clients find a reason to be beyond the reach of law enforcement. American order when Trump is forced back into force in just over a month.
He told Politico he’s encouraged “a small number of people” to “take a vacation outside of the country around the time of inauguration, just to see what happens.”
The range of what could happen should Trump turn the power of government against his perceived enemies is quite broad indeed.
In addition to contriving reasons to investigate, arrest and prosecute political foes, a Trump administration bent on revenge could subject critics to invasive IRS audits, make it difficult for critics to travel abroad or access financial services, and could harass and intimidate them with all manner of compulsory process short of arrest.
Several prominent pro-democracy commentators and activists say efforts are already being made to prepare for the possibility that the new government will unleash countless acts of harassment against others who have antagonized the president during his first term. But some of Trump’s top critics are undeterred.
Rick Wilson, the former Republican ad-man who co-founded and still helps run the Lincoln Project Super PAC, told The Independent that his organization plans to return to messaging that helped drive down Trump’s popularity as he ran for re-election in 2020.
The organization focused on Trump’s mistakes and incompetence rather than the more amorphous “pro-democracy” messages that dominated the 2024 cycle.
“Democracy is incredibly important, but unfortunately it has not convinced the majority of Americans either. . . It is important now to take advantage of this era that we are about to enter to explain that it will not achieve the expected effects through other people than concept that it would be . deliver – he’s already saying, ‘I can’t lower prices, I can’t do this, I can’t do that,’ and we feel like there’s an area of opportunity in front of us where we know our type of messaging is going to be effective and we’re “We will be able to intervene and make a compelling case that we want to continue with a concept of opposition to this guy,” said Wilson, who under pressure that his organization would not be part of this project. “hooded mafia” that ruled anti-Trump circles during his first years in office.
Wilson, who has had to fight lawsuits from Trump allies in recent months, said he knows it is possible that Trump’s administration will go beyond civil litigation this time.
But Wilson wouldn’t back down from any fight.
“I suspect I’ll spend a good portion of my time dealing with this kind of garbage, dealing with congressional committees, whatever it is. But I think it’s up to other people like me not to settle beforehand and not work out of fear,” he said. “It’s not a productive emotion after a certain point, and I refuse to live that way right now; We are going to continue doing what we are doing, and if they stop me… they have to take me out feet first. I’m not going to bow down to those other people.
Wilson added that during his years in politics, he was “very careful not to commit crimes,” adding that he avoided “stupid” violations that he called a financial crusade, with the help of a “very smart legal advisor” who told him so. getting up and not doing safe things.
Another prominent Trump critic, conservative attorney George Conway, said he doesn’t worry about being placed in the crosshairs of the new administration because he’s “got nothing to investigate.”
Conway, an ex-corporate litigator who was previously married to Trump aide and GOP political strategist Kellyanne Conway, told The Independent that his life is “pretty simple.”
“I don’t pay porn stars. I don’t have any wonderful investments. I don’t have any cash company. All my cash is invested in mutual budgeting because I spent 30 years in a law firm where we were only allowed to invest in mutuals. budget,” he said.
He added that the only way for Trump or his allies to attack him is through a defamation lawsuit, which he said “would be great” because it would allow him to obtain information.
“I’m also not afraid of going right out after them and making their lives miserable— by going after me they’re just going to give me a platform,” he said.
Some Trump critics who have long been targeted by the president’s inner circle are more involved because of their proximity to Trump.
Olivia Troye, former national security adviser to then-Vice President Mike Pence, told The Independent that she was very concerned about others close to Trump, such as Patel, the new White House deputy chief of staff, Steven Miller, the director-designate of the Office of Management and Budget. Russell Vought and others like them because they see her more as a defector because of her former proximity to the center of power.
Troye said she worries about what someone such as Patel, who has funded multiple lawsuits and legal threats against her, could do in power because he’ll have the backing of Trump and the support of Attorney General-designate Pam Bondi, another loyalist to the incoming president.
She also said she was considering taking security precautions for herself and her circle of family because Trump and his allies have a history of exposing warring parties to death threats and harassment by publishing their names.
“This is a crazy time, and when they do things, we’ve seen that sometimes people get radicalized and they act on it. So I just need to do what’s best for me and my family,” Troye said.
Wilson said he believed Trump would “surely attempt to abuse force in an appalling and profound way” by attacking critics, if not him, at least other people like him.
But he warned those in the line of fire to “comply in advance” and warned that those further down the control table will not benefit from the same protections as those Trump benefited from.
“Donald Trump is immune thanks to the Supreme Court, but not all members of his leadership are immune from liability if they abuse their power,” he said. “We don’t yet live in a world where there are no consequences for guys like Kash Patel or others within management. “
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Donald Trump is ready to return to the White House.
Donald Trump is in a position to return to the White House. This leaves his critics bracing themselves for retaliation.
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