It is not every day that a former president of the United States is indicted for a serious crime. And it’s certainly not every day that a former president – one who many people believe to be the most corrupt and criminal president in history – is still loved, or worshipped, by far too large a slice of the population, the same people who have already proven themselves willing to unleash chaos over an election. Now imagine if they believe someone is trying to put their dear leader in jail to fulfill a political vendetta?

Thus it is that Palm Beach County – where Trump currently resides – best be prepared for rallies in support of Trump, rallies in support of law-enforcement against Trump, possible clashes between the two, attempts to block any service upon Trump, law enforcement asking Trump to surrender himself… This is a giant mess. And that is why there are reports that Palm Beach County is already making contingency plans. We cannot imagine that an indictment would come down out of the blue without some kind of coordination with some kind of security services.

But what do we know?

And yet it gets even worse. According to Politico, Palm Beach County has to make even further considerations. Ron DeSantis can save Trump’s ass, at least so long as Trump remains in Florida and so long as DeSantis chooses. At that point, what was already a dangerous situation could get that much worse.

An obscure clause in Florida’s statute on interstate extradition gives Gov. RON DESANTIS the ability to intervene and even investigate whether an indicted “person ought to be surrendered” to law enforcement officials from another state — which means that as Mar-a-Lago prepares to close down for the season and Trump relocates to Bedminster, N.J., it isn’t just the Florida heat he’s leaving behind: He could lose a key piece of political protection.

“The statute leaves room for interpretation that the governor has the power to order a review and potentially not comply with the extradition notice,” says JOE ABRUZZO, clerk of the Circuit Court of Palm Beach County, the official who would be in charge of opening a potential fugitive-at-large case.

“Whether an indicted person ought to be surrendered.” The MAGAs are the people who wanted to continue to “investigate” an election that had already been “investigated” more than any election in the last one-hundred and fifty years. (Bush v. Gore was limited to one state.) So under what circumstances would the ultimate MAGA governor, Ron DeSantis, not insist upon investigating whether Trump “ought” to be surrendered?

It all results in a situation in which Trump is essentially a fugitive from justice, only protected, so long as he’s in Florida. But maybe it gets even more complicated than that. According to Politico, New Jersey (Trump’s summer state) has a similar statute, but New Jersey’s governor is Phil Murphy, a Democrat who is not a fan of Trump. So now we’re in a situation where a state with a Republican Governor might protect Trump, a state with a Democratic Governor might hand him over.

Even worse? Sure. Does Georgia have a similar statute? What about Texas? Does one see where this is going? Could we really be in a situation where MAGA governors are protecting their MAGA leader from what they simply declare to be a political witch hunt? What happens if Trump steps on federal property, cuffs slapped on him? If Trump flies to Texas is he untouchable?  God help him if he flies to Oregon?

Those of you who have read our reports since last summer will recall that we wrote that these exact “types” of issues would arise if a state indicts a former president (or current president). Our conclusion was that it was simply a horrible policy and shouldn’t be done absent crystal clear evidence of a horrific crime. Tax fraud in New York would not qualify. We were not saying that a president should be above the law. We were saying that the decision to prosecute a president or former president will look (if not be) inherently political (Want to give Arkansas a shot at prosecuting Barack Obama?). And if there is one thing we know about MAGA Republicans, it is that anything done to them will get returned with a ridiculously overwhelming response. If the Republicans win the House in 2022, everyone knows that Biden will be impeached. Absolutely. No chance he won’t be.

Our position is that the criminal prosecution of a former president is something that must be brought by the entire nation, not an individual state. It would be such a monumental decision that it ought to be made by the country as a whole. Right now, Joe Biden is the country’s elected leader and represents “the country as a whole.” Joe Biden appointed Merrick Garland to be Attorney General and left law enforcement up to Garland. Unless Trump is on video committing a crime in New York, it is our opinion that any charges against Trump should be brought under the heading “United States v.  Trump” and by the Department of Justice.

Is that good? Of course not! Should Trump get away with anything? Of course not! But are there considerations that go to getting this godforsaken country through this damned period without a war because it’s so insane right now? Yes. Yes, there are such considerations. It is an awful reality, but it is reality.

It sounds like the federal government might be close anyway. Rudy is going to sing. But we will do nothing but accelerate the Cold Civil War (the one that gets hot, occasionally) if the state of New York indicts Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis decides to protect him (and we see no reason he won’t), Trump cannot leave Florida, unless other red states promise to protect him. The lines are drawn. Not North-South. Not Blue versus Gray. Not over slavery. But it would be red against blue over Donald F’ing Trump – everything he touches dies. 

It is all a mess. It is a mess because this country is literally that screwed up. It is tragic and if one concentrates on it more than a few minutes one all but gives up on this country’s near future. It is hard to see a way out of this. The single best case scenario is that Merrick Garland gets rock solid proof that Trump was up to something… something that involved selling his country out. We don’t think it’s that far off. (We are speculating).

Other than that? No one knows. No one.

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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak