Donald Trump's 'witch hunt' claims are rank hypocrisy

Donald Trump has recently been crying wolf by declaring America’s legal system is a “witch hunt” against him. Trump claims the New York, Georgia, Florida and District of Columbia court cases — with 91 felony charges — are politically motivated to restrict his ability to run for president in 2024.

Anyone with a modicum of intelligence would realize the hypocrisy of Trump’s current ploy if they knew he never once declared “witch hunt” in the 62 lawsuits he filed and lost while contesting the 2020 election. Note: Trump-appointed judges were among the 80-plus magistrates who dismissed his election fraud lawsuits.

Let’s not forget nine jurors and not a judge awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million because of Trump’s sexual abuse and defamation; a fact-driven verdict, not a witch hunt. A federal judge ruled the ex-president’s comments about Carroll were libelous. A second trial (Carroll v. Trump) is set to start Jan. 15, the day of the Iowa GOP Caucus.

MAGA Trumpers probably haven’t let it sink in that New York Supreme Court 1st Judicial District Judge Arthur Engoron already ruled that Donald, his sons and the Trump Organization repeatedly committed fraud during the last decade; again, a fact-driven decision.

Furthermore, Trump never once, to the best of my knowledge, cried wolf or uttered “witch hunt” in the 4,000-plus lawsuits that encompassed his life. USA TODAY notes that Trump has been the plaintiff 2,121 times and a defendant 1,929 times. The media’s ongoing analysis of Trump’s legal findings are broken down as follows: 1) 17 political campaign cases; six within the past year, 2) 190 government and tax cases, 3) 85 product branding and trademark cases, 4) 1,863 casino-related cases, 5) 208 class action cases over contract disputes tied to real estate developments, 6) 130 employee-employment cases, 7) 63 golf club-related cases, 8) 14 media outlet or individual defamation cases, 9) 697 personal injury cases, 10) 622 real estate cases and 11) 206 other miscellaneous cases.

And, let’s remember, “Donald Trump has been accused of rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment, including non-consensual kissing or groping, by at least 25 women since the 1970s” (Eliza Relman, Business Insider, May 1, 2020). Since past actions are the best predictor of future behavior, it’s not surprising Mr. Trump has not yet made good on his promise “all of these liars (females) will be sued after the election (2016) is over.” Again, crying wolf.

Here’s a quick review, thanks to a Dec. 6 Politico report, of the criminal cases that appear to be the real deal vs. a witch hunt: 1) in Washington, DC, four felony counts for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, 2) 13 felony counts for election interference in Georgia, 3) in New York, 34 felony counts in connection with hush money payments to a porn star and 4) in Florida, 40 felony counts for hoarding US classified documents and impeding government’s efforts to retrieve them as per law.

Might Trump be crying “witch hunt” and his lawyers purposely throwing as many counter arguments onto the court systems so the cases won’t have a verdict until after the Nov. 5, 2024, election? Of course.

Trump’s history of life-long legal issues, starting at age 27 (Oct. 15, 1973; violation of Fair Housing Act of 1968), should cause any registered Republican, independent or Democrat to think a little more than once about whether a man like Trump is fit to lead the greatest country in the world and abide by the Constitution and laws.

The words of Theodore Roosevelt are fitting: “No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it.”

Steve Corbin is a professor emeritus of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa. He receives no renumeration, funding or endorsement from any for-profit business, not-for-profit organization, political action committee or political party.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Donald Trump's 'witch hunt' claims are rank hypocrisy