At various points, especially when he became president, graphs or timelines can prove to be a better tool for understanding facts. His firing of James Comey in May 2017, for example, apparently because the FBI director would not go easy on Gen. Michael Flynn, who lied to agents about his conversations with a Russian diplomat, led to creation of the Mueller investigation, which highlighted several wrongdoings by Trump and possible obstruction of justice. Trump would rage for months over the Mueller report — both claiming he was exonerated and that it was a witch hunt. When it came to Trump’s first impeachment, with enthusiasm for such a venture among Democrats no doubt heightened after Mueller was unable to reach conclusions, it was often handy to have a list of names to go by. What was Rudy Giuliani doing in Kyiv? What was he asking of then-unheard-of leader Volodymyr Zelensky, what was Hunter Biden’s relevance, and had Democrat Adam Schiff’s staff been tipped off by a whistleblower in Trump’s apparent attempt to pressure Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden in exchange for the release of the Army ? Even with the notes in front of you, it was often hard to follow. Now, once again, we need special props. On Wednesday morning, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit against Trump and his three oldest children, accusing them of financial fraud and alleging they knowingly misrepresented the value of the Trump Organization’s business interests over many years. “The pattern of fraud and deception used by Mr. Trump and the Trump Organization for their own financial gain is astounding,” James said Wednesday morning at a news conference in New York. “Pretending to have money you don’t have isn’t the art of the deal, it’s the art of stealing.” The New York Attorney General announces a lawsuit against Donald Trump James wants $250 million in assets returned, Trump’s three oldest children barred from office and Trump himself barred from any business dealings in the city or state for five years, which should anger and infuriating a man born to the city, whose bluster often seems to characterize New York tycoons from the 1970s or 1980s. Trump was quick to dismiss the lawsuit as an attempt by James to harass him and his family, accusing her of going after him for political reasons and describing her announcement as “the culmination of nearly three years of persistent, targeted, immoral political harassment.” . The lawsuit alone would look bad for Trump and his family, accusing the man who played a successful businessman on The Apprentice of lying and dishonesty. But James’ lawsuit isn’t Trump’s only challenge, and this is where we might need the help of a cross-sectional Venn diagram or even an old-fashioned board game like Risk. As James relays her findings to the court and other prosecutors, it’s important to remember that Trump faces many, many other problems. In August, FBI agents raided Trump’s Mar-a-Lago mansion in Florida, where they removed hundreds of classified and classified documents that the former president was allegedly not supposed to keep after he left the White House. The investigation being conducted by the Department of Justice is conducting its investigations for a warrant being sought for a possible violation of the Espionage Act. So far, Trump has been unable to come up with a plausible reason for why he still had these documents, other than what he wanted. The former president faces many challenges (Getty Images) It’s not clear how Trump gets out of this. Currently, an independent evaluator, or special master, reviews documents seized by the FBI to determine whether any may be privileged. Most legal experts have said such a review is unnecessary, and the Trump team’s request for such a review is widely seen as a delaying tactic. And that’s not his only pressing problem. Next week, the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attacks on the US Capitol, an episode for which Trump has been impeached for the second time, will meet to deliver a report and announce any possible impeachments. Polling data has shown that these carefully curated presentations have hurt Trump’s standing among Republicans, a growing number of whom are at least ready to consider voting for someone else, even as Trump himself appears adamant that he will is a candidate again. One thing intersects all these various things – Donald Trump himself and his apparent belief that normal rules and laws do not apply to him. Trump has repeatedly been erased in the past by various scandals only to come back. It may well be his escapes from it all. But for now, it feels like the wall is closing in.
