Looks like disgraced, criminally-indicted Donald John Trump is finding out that his co-defendancts and others he has ignored within his criminal cult are jumping ship and telling all to prosecutors.
The technology director at Mar-a-Lago has told prosecutors he lied about Trump not being involved in an effort to erase video tapes of he and his staff attempting to hide evidence after it was subpoenoed by the Department of Justice.
He had told prosecutors he won’t lie for the former president any longer and is ready to tell the truth about violations of the law committed on orders of Trump.
He’s not alone. Former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is talking to the Special Counsel.
In court documents and hearings, lawyers for people in Trump’s orbit — both high-level advisers and lesser known associates — are starting to reveal glimmers of a tried-and-true strategy in cases with many defendants: Portray yourself as a hapless pawn while piling blame on the apparent kingpin.
“History has shown the 18 co-defendants that Donald doesn’t care about anyone but himself,” said Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, referring to the 18 people charged alongside Trump in the Georgia election racketeering case.
“I suspect it will be every defendant for himself,” Cohen added.
Cohen, the former “fixer” lawyer for Trump, knows a lot about how the con artist who became president abandons those who help him lie and cheat.
(Cohen) should know: He was once Trump’s versatile fixer but is now a star witness against him in the New York criminal case stemming from hush money payments to a porn star.
Cohen broke with Trump years ago. But in recent weeks, Trump allies who are facing or could have faced jeopardy in connection with three of his four pending criminal cases have shown that they might follow Cohen’s lead.
In late August, an information technology aide at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort dramatically changed his story about alleged efforts to erase surveillance video and agreed to cooperate with special counsel Jack Smith, who has charged Trump with hoarding classified documents. The aide, Yuscil Taveras, was not charged in the case, but his flip may help him dodge a possible perjury charge prosecutors were floating — and it is likely to bolster Smith’s obstruction-of-justice case against Trump and two other aides.
Then, three GOP activists who were indicted alongside Trump in Georgia for trying to interfere with the certification of President Joe Biden’s win in the state asserted that their actions were all taken at Trump’s behest.
And last week, Trump’s former White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows — also charged in the Georgia case — signaled that his defense is likely to include blaming the former president as the primary driver of the effort.
It’s not uncommon for co-defendants facing serious prison time to point fingers at each other to make themselves look less culpable to an eventual jury. But rarely has it played out in such an extraordinary fashion, where the alleged ringleader is a former president.
Cohen says Trump has one rule. He comes first when it comes to protecting himself and anyone else involved should always take the fall. He is claiming sweeping immunity as president as the excuse for his lies and criminal actions. Legal experts say that immunity doesn’t apply for ex-presidents.
Trump also promises pardons for anyone who helped him evade the law but that comes into play only if he is elected in November, 2024. Other GOP contenders for the nomination, notably Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, say they “will consider pardons” for Trump and his cult.
Some say strict application of the 14th amendment to the U.S Constitution, which forbids those who take actions against the country, should bar Trump forever from even being on the ballot but Trump has had a frustrating ability to ignore the law and get away with it.
Those who want to save the nation must find a way to bury Trump politically and, for extra measure, use a lot of lye to cover the stench of his actions and memories.
In the end, it should be up to the voters to rid this nation of the greatest criminal despot in our history, but only if they can function without interference from Trump and his criminal cabal.
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