Former President Donald Trump did not take well to the news that emerged this week that New York state Attorney General Letitia James (D) is now conducting a criminal investigation of his company. Previously, she’d been leading a civil probe, but now, criminal charges could (eventually) emerge in connection to her efforts.
On the blog that he has set up in the absence of access to major social media platforms, Trump issued a rambling, free-wheeling statement on Wednesday, whining (among other complaints) about people he referred to as “partisan voters who wish to enact political retribution” as though the existence of voters opposed to him is some kind of existential threat — which is laughably self-obsessed. He was discussing the New York voters who backed James.
Trump belligerently ranted as follows:
‘There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime. But, make no mistake, that is exactly what is happening here. The Attorney General of New York literally campaigned on prosecuting Donald Trump even before she knew anything about me… If you can run for a prosecutor’s office pledging to take out your enemies, and be elected to that job by partisan voters who wish to enact political retribution, then we are no longer a free constitutional democracy.’
It’s just incredible that Trump seems to believe that the existence of and participation in the electoral process by voters opposed to him means that democracy itself is somehow at risk. No, Donald — the ability of government officials to face meaningful opposition from large enough groups of voters is one of the basic ideas of democracy. That’s how democracy works — and the ex-president is freaking out.
Among many other complaints, Trump also claimed that these “investigations have also been going on for years with members and associates of the Trump Organization being viciously attacked, harassed, and threatened, in order to say anything bad about the 45th President of the United States,” which is simply not accurate. Suggesting that associates of the former president have been “viciously attacked” is just a staggeringly exaggerated misrepresentation of the basic reality of what has been going on. Evidence is evidence! Duly proceeding investigative efforts proceeding on the basis of duly documented evidence do not represent some kind of secretive conspiracy, although that’s exactly with Donald “Perpetual Victim Complex” Trump suggests.
Check out the full statement from Trump at this link.
