Matt Rourke/AP
For all his efforts to evade transparency and, instead, offer a steady stream of lies, Donald Trump has always been brutally honest about one thing: his penchant for revenge.
This lust has, over the years, taken on a particular kink. When possible, Trump has often enjoyed walking up to a microphone and implying—if not outright saying—that his enemies should be investigated, prosecuted, or arrested by the government he wants to head. These enemies include a seemingly endless list of people, from James Comey to Joe Scarborough.
It’s no surprise that vengeful threats of political prosecution have escalated since Trump’s conviction; he and his allies now appear hellbent on opening investigations into all their perceived enemies. Republicans have made clear political persecution could take place as a key role of government should Trump return to the White House.
With a second term possible, here is an incomplete and running list of everyone we could find that Trump has said should be prosecuted.
As with several others here, Trump’s calls to investigate Joe Biden and his family could make its own list. Here’s a glimpse into that logic. Last year, in a Truth Social post (brace yourself for the all-caps rant), Trump wrote that, if re-elected, he “WILL APPOINT A REAL SPECIAL “PROSECUTOR” TO GO AFTER THE MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE USA, JOE BIDEN, THE ENTIRE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY, & ALL OTHERS INVOLVED WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR ELECTIONS, BORDERS, & COUNTRY ITSELF!” (President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, is currently on trial for charges of possessing a gun while using narcotics.)
And earlier this year, Trump wrote: “If I don’t get Immunity, then Crooked Joe Biden doesn’t get Immunity.”
Bragg is the prosecutor who took on Trump, leading to his first criminal conviction. Trump acolyte Steve Bannon told Axios, “of course [Bragg] should be—and will be—jailed” if Trump is re-elected. And surely it’s just a coincidence that Bragg is also prosecuting Bannon in a money........