D-Day for Defendant Donald Trump

Eight years after he called Mexican people “rapists.” Seven years since he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. Six years after he said there were “fine people on both sides.” Five years after he said asylum seekers were “animals.” Four years after he said Baltimore was “disgusting, rat- and rodent-infested.” Three years after he wanted to inject us with Clorox. Two years after he told the insurrectionists to “march over to the Capitol building.” One year after he called civil rights hero John Lewis a “failure.” One week after he called Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg “HUMAN SCUM.”

And this week, Donald Trump gets fingerprinted and poses for his mug shot. And at last, Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud. And he will appear on the defendant side in front of a judge.

Many of us are jumping up and down, collectively saying, “It’s about time.” Many of us feel vindicated: “It was only a matter of time. Many of us are awed by the history of this moment: “The first time an American president is criminally indicted. ” Now only time will tell what comes next.

Donald Trump is obsessed about time. Taking up as much time as he can by creating a nonstop media circus around him. Dragging all of his court cases out over long periods of time. Desperately trying to tack on time to his presidency. Wasting lots of time watching Fox News. Spending lots of time on the golf course. Repeating time and time again that the election was stolen. Will Donald Trump end up actually doing time?

Donald Trump has kept us prisoners. He hovered over us constantly with outrageous tweets during his presidency. He surrounded us 24/7 on cable news, nonstop Donald Trump. He locked us up with his never-ending and tiresome "lock her up" seven years after Hillary Clinton left the political stage. He destroyed us during COVID. He lied to us infinitely. He punished our democracy. He took no prisoners on his quest for power. Will Donald Trump end up a prisoner?

Trump never admitted he was guilty. He did not have sex with an adult-film star, when he did. He was a “very excellent student” in school, when he wasn’t. He was a "self-made" billionaire, when his father gave him millions. He was a successful businessman, when he has declared bankruptcy multiple times. He said it was a “perfect call’ when it wasn’t. He gave money to veterans, when he didn’t. He donated his salary as president, when he had not done so. Will Donald Trump finally be found guilty?

That’s the million-dollar question. Will he finally, finally, finally be found guilty of something? He has weaseled his way out of so much litigation. He has skirted the law for nearly 50 years. He has cheated on his taxes, his wife, his finances, and his country. He has lied about everything imaginable. Stolen money from his own foundation, from his tenants, and from his MAGA crowd (Minutes after his indictment was announced, his obtuse supporters received a fundraising plea.) Weasel, skirt, cheat, lie, and steal — his lifelong obsessions. He has never had his comeuppance. Will he now?

Will this indictment be like his impeachment? Meaning, will he be indicted but acquitted? He was the first president to be impeached twice, a pseudo indictment by the House. But each time he slipped through the two-thirds majority required in the Senate to convict him. Will this indictment stop short of conviction?

Mike Pence and Mark Meadows have been ordered to testify in front of the federal grand jury investigating January 6. These two are the peak of all witnesses to that repulsive day. The only witness left is Trump. Nearly 1,000 MAGA marauders have been charged for their involvement in the insurrection. And more will still be charged and jailed. And Rudy “trial by combat” Giuliani’s time will surely come. Is a federal indictment for Trump’s insurrection role imminent?

The Fulton County grand jury has finished its investigation of potential election law violations in the state of Georgia. Potential targets of the investigation could include Trump and his associates, who many believe were involved in election law violations. Fulton County DA Fani Willis was successful in all her court filings regarding the election investigation, nabbing Sen. Lindsey Graham and Rudy Giuliani as witnesses. Then there are those tapes of Trump asking for nearly 12,000 votes. Is a Fulton County indictment for Trump coming soon?

There are Trump's taxes. Trump Organization business practices, Trump's gifts from foreign leaders that were not reported, and on and on and on. The Department of Justice special counsel is investigating the classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago. The New York State attorney general is alleging the Trump Organization lied to lenders and insurers about its assets. And there’s the alleged rape of and defamation suit by writer E. Jean Carroll heading to trial. Will any of these, even one, result in an indictment, and will any of these, just one, put Trump in prison?

Isn’t that what we want? To hear a judge say, “You are guilty. You will be a prisoner. You will do time.” Those words will be music to our ears. We will finally get retribution. We will get our vengeance. We will have vanquished Trump. We will have finally shut him up, shut him down, and shut him out.

However, will we get to the point where a judge sends this insidious, snarling, conniving convict to his last stop before he arrives at the gates of hell? Will we go through hell waiting for Trump to be prosecuted before he finally lands in the clink? Do we hope Trump is put through hell with all the upcoming trials and tribulations? Or, deflatingly, will hell freeze over before Trump ever ends up in prison?

As he does with everything else, Trump will dominate our time and stretch out the time of indictments on appeals and litigation trickery,. In the process, he will keep us prisoner to his sickening daily rantings (unless a judge puts a gag order on him — let us pray), and he will deny all his guilt over and over again in the face of daunting evidence.

Will years pass until Trump is finally a jailbird? Will we even be alive when they slam the cell door? Will we see this in our lifetime? Will Trump in cuffs on his wrists and legs and a jumper over his obese self ever come to fruition?

Will we wake up one day and say, "Wow, five years ago today, Donald Trump became the first ex-president sent to prison!" If so, that would be Trump's final stop before he lands in hell.

Views expressed in The Advocate’s opinion articles are those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the views of The Advocate or our parent company, equalpride.