I felt for E. Jean Carroll yesterday as she recounted how her life’s work and dignity have been robbed by Donald Trump, with him breathing down her neck in the courtroom. He muttered aloud, overheard by the jury, and slammed his fists on the defense’s table in the courtroom.
Donald Trump is why New York State enacted significant changes in how crime victims are treated, back in the 1980’s. I know because I was a legislative analyst working on these laws way back then, from the “Son of Sam” law that uses proceeds of a convicted felon’s ill-gotten gains from book and movie deals to pay for crimes committed, to Victim Impact Statements and even making sure that a victim doesn’t have to sit on the same bench outside the courtroom indeterminately waiting with the alleged offender.
What Ms. Carroll went through yesterday was analogous to being sexually assaulted yet again by Mr. Trump, because he is, plain and simple, a bully.
On Monday 56,000 Iowans chose to put Donald Trump on the presidential ballot for the Republican Party. It’s a drop in the bucket as the contender needs well over 1,000 votes, and only 14% of eligible caucus-goers even voted in a small, conservative state. But fellow candidates, governors, senators and congress members all dropped everything to endorse the bully Mr. Trump before other states even get a chance to weigh in.
My adopted state fought Donald Trump and won when he tried to overturn the 2020 election here. His campaign actually paid for a recount of the offending counties of Dane and Milwaukee that didn’t vote for him, and he still lost. But he kept on calling State Assembly leader Robin Vos regularly, for years, to demand that he convene the legislature and “reinstate” him as President despite his loss in the State and nation. Just forget that just over half of the 3.3 million WI voters voted for Biden and put me back in the White House, who cares about millions of voters! I’m a bully and you have to do as I say.
Now two states have taken Trump off the ballot for having incited an insurrection. Guess what, he did. He was impeached for it and nearly convicted. But no, taking him off the ballot because of something as silly as the United States Constitution is “undemocratic.” The bully will try to win at any cost.
Look at the court cases. Ninety-one felony counts and myriad other cases against Donald Trump and they’re all “election interference” and “witch hunts.” Guys, I was in real estate law in the 1980’s and Trump was reviled even in the industry. I still remember the full page ad he took out in The NY Times calling for execution of five boys for a murder in Central Park. They were exonerated decades later when DNA proved their innocence, and very recently one of the men was elected to New York’s City Council.
Look at how many lives Donald Trump has ruined due to his lies and bullying. Now he wants to control the military and justice system to benefit one person, himself. Not to mention the myriad ways he can use the White House to axe the court cases against him and line his pockets while doing so.
Whether you’re a state election official, judge or voter, Donald Trump needs to face the rules that bind all the rest of us. He is no better and does not deserve any more consideration than us for criminal acts committed before, during or after his presidency. Until we hold him accountable, our democracy will remain on shaky ground. Think about that, Supreme Court, when you decide his immunity and illegal, despotic acts. Thanks for reading, folks! Whatever you do, vote! Dee
Cooking with Dee 