The Messenger recently interviewed over 20 prominent government figures, including former Department of Justice leaders, lawmakers from both Republican and Democratic parties, and former aides and advisors. During these interviews, participants were questioned about the feasibility of Trump’s ambitions to assume complete control of the US government. A consensus emerged among many interviewees, suggesting that the reported revenge plot may be somewhat overconfident, while The Messenger branded it “catnip for his MAGA audiences.”
Far More Difficult to Implement
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In a recent publication, The Messenger called Trump’s alleged revenge strategy “catnip for his MAGA audiences” and also highlighted that upon interviewing many high-profile government officials, past and present, they stated that Trump’s plans would be “far more difficult to implement in real life.”
Holding Trump Back From Revenge
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The article reads, “The guardrails holding Trump back from a vengeance strategy in a second term would come from inside the Justice Department, the federal courts, and Congress.” The statement came after the Messenger declared they had conducted over 20 interviews with senior officials “from across the political spectrum.”
Things May Be Adversarial
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GOP Sen. Josh Hawley told The Messenger, “I’m sure that things will be adversarial.” As reported in the article, Hawley recognized the challenging expectations Jeff Sessions and Bill Barr faced in serving Trump’s administration and the ensuing conflicts.
Trump May Be a Bit Overconfident
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According to legal experts interviewed by The Messenger, Trump “may be a bit overconfident” in believing he could “take absolute command of the nation’s most powerful arm of law enforcement to direct at his leisure.”
Judges Will Come Out Ready to Filet You
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The Messenger also reported that when they interviewed a former senior DOJ official, the response was, “Those Article III judges will come out ready to filet you if they think you’re in there on behalf of the president of the United States in a criminal case directed by Trump.”
Investigations Into Collusions With Russia
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The Messenger report then pointed to the case of James Comey. Some critics argued that Comey’s dismissal by Trump was an attempt to impede the Russia investigation into the 2016 Trump campaign, which eventually led to the appointment of a special counsel, Robert Mueller, to continue the probe.
A Series of Controversial Pardons
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The Messenger stated the investigation “kept Trump’s White House stuck playing defense for a giant chunk of their four-year term.” It resulted in “convictions for Trump associates that gave way to a series of controversial presidential pardons.”
Cohen on Trump’s Form of Retaliation
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However, in contrast, The Messenger pointed to Michael Cohen, the former attorney and fixer for Trump, who penned an op-ed recounting his experience of being placed in solitary confinement during his federal prison sentence. He characterized this solitary confinement as “a form of retaliation” that followed his guilty plea and public disclosures about how Trump had mistreated him.
Antagonists Will Suffer the Same Effects
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Michael Cohen wrote in his op-ed, “Should Donald Trump win the 2024 election, more Americans, who he deems his antagonists, will suffer the same effects as I do.”
Cohen Talks of Solitary Confinement
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Cohen talked about his 51 days in solitary confinement and the PTSD he suffered as a result of his imprisonment. “As a result of COVID, I was initially confined to solitary confinement for 35 days, ultimately being released to Home Confinement pursuant to the CARES Act,” he explained.
Cohen’s Refusal to Waive First Amendment Right
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Cohen continued his piece, “However, approximately 2 weeks later, I was unexpectedly remanded back to FCI Otisville after refusing to waive my First Amendment right and not speak to the media about my experiences in prison or publish my memoir about Donald Trump.”
Painful and Tortuous Days
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Cohen wrote, “I was returned to solitary confinement where I remained for another 16 painful and torturous days.”
A Cruel and Unusual Punishment
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Cohen also claimed that human rights experts had criticized his treatment and further said, “Many have argued that my treatment was cruel and unusual punishment and that The US Government, Donald Trump, Bill Barr, DOJ and others, did this as a form of retaliation, violated my First Amendment rights. They are correct.”
Aggressively Unkind to Adversaries
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So, it may be easy to downplay Trump’s threats of overtaking the US Government as a whole, but he could certainly make it uncomfortable for any of his adversaries. The Messenger interviewed Ty Cobb, the former Trump White House attorney, who responded in part, “I think you can reasonably expect he’ll pressure whomever is in the government to be aggressively unkind to anyone who’s ever crossed him as he possibly can. This guy is a full-blown narcissist. It’s all about him.”
Trump Threatened Clinton in 2016
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The article pointed out that Trump’s plans seemed unbelievable to most and noted that Trump’s previous presidential campaign promise to lock up Hilary Clinton led to nothing.
Now He’s on the Warpath
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A former senior DOJ Trump official told The Messenger, “There’s always been a bit of a disconnect between what he says publicly and what he says on the policy side,” The source added, “To his credit at the time, he kind of got it. Then he felt he got screwed, and now he’s on the warpath.”
Threats Come at the Same Time as Legal Battles
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The article highlighted that a pattern emerged between Trump’s threats to lock up his adversaries and his various legal battles, pointing out, among many instances, Trump’s “vow to appoint a Biden-focused special prosecutor came hours after his June arraignment in Miami.” The article also noted that “After three of his former campaign lawyers pleaded guilty in Georgia, Trump at the end of October told an Iowa audience he would direct ‘a completely overhauled DOJ to investigate every radical DA and AG in America for their illegal, racist-in-reverse, enforcement of the law.’”
Becoming a Banana Republic
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A former White House aide who was kept anonymous by The Messenger told the publication, “He [Trump] can shift resources. He can appoint someone in the civil rights division that’s not an activist. There’s a number of ways the White House may impose its policies on the DOJ, just like any other department. We’d not be having this conversation if it was HUD. But the one thing we all agree on is that the president should not be demanding the DOJ prosecute particular individuals because then you do become a banana republic.”
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