So much for “definitely not going to jail”
Ever since it was publicly reported in late 2019 that the Manhattan District Attorney was criminally pursuing Donald Trump over his finances, it’s been clear that if he lost reelection, he’d end up in prison. Now that his company and CFO have been indicted, and the grand jury is still hearing from witnesses, it’s more clear than ever that Trump is on a path to prison.
Of course Palmer Report faces significant pushback against this every time we point it out – even from those who want Trump behind bars – largely because people can’t wrap their heads around the notion that it’s actually going to happen, no matter how thoroughly everything points in that direction. After all, Trump isn’t acting like someone who’s headed to prison.
Then there’s Matt Gaetz. Ever since his pal Joel Greenberg was given a cooperating plea deal in spite of his own hideous crimes, it’s been pretty clear that Gaetz is going down for something, whether it’s for the most severe allegations against him or something less. But because Gaetz keeps acting like someone who’s not headed to prison, people don’t want to believe that there’s any way he could possibly end up going down.
But here’s the thing. There’s a right wing activist and Capitol invader named Jenna Ryan who, awhile back, announced that she’s “definitely not going to jail.” She’s wealthy and influential, so when she announced that she was somehow magically going to get off the hook, a lot of people simply believed her. After all, the bad guys never lie, right? Wait a minute.
Sure enough, Jenna Ryan was sentenced to prison today. She didn’t get away with it all just because she’s a powerful right winger. She didn’t get away with it all just because she announced she was getting away with it all, and tried to act like she was getting away with it all. It took all year, as tends to happen in the legal system, but she went down in the end, just like anyone paying attention to the facts knew she would.
The same thing is true for Donald Trump in New York State. And it’s true for Matt Gaetz, Rudy Giuliani, Tom Barrack, and others at the federal level. The circumstances of the criminal cases against them make clear that they’re going down. Just because they’re acting like they’re going to get away with it, is of no relevance. Of course they’re acting that way. They’re trying to put on a brave public face. But it doesn’t magically save them. Just ask Jenna “I’m definitely not going to jail” Ryan. She can be reached in jail.
