Let the show trials begin
Axios really has joined the resistance:
The MAGA movement has spent the past 10 years demanding the arrests of President Trump’s political enemies.
- Now, for the first time, the levers of power are aligned to pursue that goal from inside the federal government.
Attorney General Pam Bondi’s decision to order a grand jury investigation into Obama-era intelligence officials is a watershed moment in the history of MAGA retribution.
- The threat of criminal charges targeting Trump enemies, such as former FBI director James Comey and former CIA director John Brennan, is no longer confined to the base’s imagination.
- With Trump at the peak of his powers — and the Justice Department brimming with loyalists, pretexts and political will — MAGA is primed for a historic reckoning.
Also Bill and Hillary Clinton, dontcha know. They’re being subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee.
Here’s some projection for you:
Call it “MAGA justice.” The DOJ traditionally has investigated allegations of wrongdoing and brought charges if it deemed appropriate, but Trump’s base entered his second term with a preordained prison list.
- “Unless we see people tried and held accountable and in orange jumpsuits and handcuffs, this is not going away,” the Conservative Partnership Institute’s Rachel Bovard said on Vince Coglianese‘s podcast Monday.
- “Color me a little bit cautious here that we’re immediately going to get perp walks and indictments, but that is what we need,” activist Charlie Kirk said on his podcast Tuesday.
Ya think? And they’re just getting started:
MAGA’s hunt for political justice has expanded beyond the usual targets.
- Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered the arrest of Democratic lawmakers this week who fled the state to block a redistricting vote.
- Asked Tuesday whether the FBI should intervene to locate and arrest Democrats, Trump said “they may have to.”
- No criminal statute was violated, but rhetoric in MAGA media is casting the state lawmakers as nothing short of fugitives.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) posted a scorecard Monday showing “zero” arrests for a grab bag of MAGA grievances — from the Russia probe to COVID to the Biden “autopen” controversy.
- “Don’t talk about it if you aren’t going to do it,” the MAGA hardliner said in a veiled warning to the Trump administration.
I am girding myself for real show trials and prison terms for Trump enemies. When you come down to it, this is what MAGA is really all about.