Tuesday open thread: Oh my God, he admit it

I'm sure we've all seen this on TV and in the movies. The defendant is in the dock. A brilliant prosecutor keeps questioning and questioning. And then comes the denouement: the attorney breaks the defendant, getting him or her to admit to the crime. The music swells, the camera goes to the defendant, showing them sobbing, angry, or resigned, while the lawyer sits back down at their desk, exhaling.

While not as dramatic, something along those lines occurred yesterday at the fraud trial of Donald J. Trump:

BREAKING: AG GETS TRUMP TO AGREE THAT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND TRUMP'S PERSONAL GUARANTY WERE TO INDUCE BANKS TO LEND MONEY. KEY FACT FOR THIS FRAUD CASE.

— Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)🌻 (@AWeissmann_) November 6, 2023

I don't think I can adumbrate just what a BFD this is.

What I described in the opening is fiction. It's dramatic. But it's just that. It rarely happens in real life. And yet, because Trump is an ignoramus, because his lawyers advertise on the backs of matchbook covers, he was always going to walk into this. Firstly, I'm sure he was in no way prepped by his team to avoid a trap such as this. But, more importantly: His sociopathy and psychosis would have rendered any attempt to coach him moot. He bragged on the stand that his net worth was far above what he claimed in his statements. He still sees that as his reason for being. Conning people into believing he's richer than he actually is is the whole center of his existence. It's the encapsulation of his self-worth. 

In the real world, this is fraud. In Trump's world, this is the thin thread which keeps him tethered to reality. And it's being frayed, bit by bit, until at the last he will be unmoored from that reality the rest of us inhabit.

What Trump is facing is a lifetime of recompense for a career of crime. And the fact is that this should have occurred decades ago. Everyone knew he was a criminal. But district attorneys and attorneys general turned a blind eye, or came to settlements which allowed him to continue his spree. 

I know the times are dark. And I know it's hard to maintain hope. But know this: Justice is careening towards Donald Trump. It's going to run him over and sit on him until he can no longer breathe. He and his family are going to lose their ill-gotten wealth, and he will die in prison—if he doesn't croak before. And what he did yesterday, admitting to the central fact of the case, will render any appeals dead on arrival. 

Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone.

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