Allen Weisselberg and Tom Barrack.
What do they have in common?
In the span of less than 30 days both men were indicted by government prosecutors; Mr. Weisselberg by the Manhattan District attorney in New York City and Mr. Barrack by federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York.
These men happen to be two of the closest allies of President Trump, both knowing and working with him for decades. So, it comes as no surprise that they have both been ensnared in the legal net that, after six years, has failed to catch the former President.
In fact, prosecutors, motivated by politics but bruised from numerous legal failures in their pursuit of Trump, are running out of targets. The only individuals left to prey upon are Trump’s children or Trump himself.
Why does it matter? There are two prevailing reasons.
First, the liberals and progressives single greatest fear is Trump being elected in 2024. A second Trump presidency would mentally and emotionally send them off a cliff. Their trepidation of this possible outcome has exposed their persistent aggression against Trump.
Multiple recurring indicators support this point. The mainstream media continue to repeatedly talk about Trump more than Biden at nearly a 2-to-1 ratio.
Even in its coverage of issues related to the Biden Administration, Trump mentions top more than 50 percent.
Individuals in federal and state government institutions continue to investigate President Trump (and those closest to him). They are desperate to find something criminal that will permanently prohibit him from serving in any public office.
Second, targeting Americans for political purposes is wrong.
It erodes our faith in our government and its institutions. When the law is not equally applied to all citizens our sense of justice is diluted, and American’s trust in the system is splintered.
As the latest figures to be subjected to the full force and weight of government prosecutors, Weisselberg and Barrack must endure the hardball and even unethical tactics that will dominate their lives in the many months ahead.
The goal is simple. Pressure the defendants until they break mentally, emotionally and financially. This includes persecuting and humiliating their families in an attempt to deliver the knock-out blow.
The reality that few Americans know is prosecutors would rather avoid a trial. In both these cases, particularly with the weakness and complexity of the charges, prosecutors fear losing where they cannot control the process, the narrative, witnesses or the jury.
The foreign agent registration law (known as FARA) used to charge Tom Barrack is so ambiguous the Department of Justice has struggled for decades to properly enforce it, so the agency has largely avoided it.
Historically, the DOJ has allowed individuals it deemed violated the statute to retroactively register. It was handled civilly with no criminal consequences.
The situation is similar for Americans who do not pay their taxes. They are breaking the law. However, the IRS rarely targets citizens with tax crimes and threats of jail.
Instead, the agency gives taxpayers an opportunity to resolve their outstanding debt amicably.
This was the case with FARA up until Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel in May 2017. When his prosecutors concluded there was no evidence of Russian collusion with Trump’s campaign, they failed in their politically motivated quest to remove him as president.
Desperate to avoid ending the investigation empty handed and humiliated Mueller’s team weaponized the FARA law and used it to target several individuals close to Trump.
Specifically, they brought criminal charges predominantly against Republicans while Democrats were warned, or their cases dropped.
One example involved a high-profile Democratic lobbyist named Tony Podesta, the brother of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman John Podesta.
As a target of the Mueller probe the case of Podesta was personally disheartening. Our firm at the time hired Podesta to represent the same foreign client.
We were criminally charged. Podesta was not.
The DOJ allowed him to register retroactively.
Now this same warped standard of the FARA law is continuing to be used to target those around Trump, this time against Barrack. Prosecutors wasted no time using their unchecked power to trample Barrack’s entire life.
Their first act was to parade him before the world in shackles to humiliate him and his family.
Next, prosecutors created a narrative through the indictment that is blatantly deceitful. They selectively used emails and texts to twist the facts of his actions to create an image that Tom betrayed his country and president.
In their most ruthless maneuver prosecutors secured the magistrate judge’s support to remand Tom for three nights while a bail hearing is scheduled.
Yet in California, where the arraignment took place, violent criminals in every major city are released on the spot without bail.
The hypocrisy of these prosecutors is disturbing and the power they wield dangerous.
The excessive tactics used by prosecutors in these few examples are only the beginning. Barrack was released on a $250 million bond, one of the largest ever in the world. For perspective Bernie Madoff was leveled with a $10 million bond. Harvey Weinstein’s was set at $2 million.
His nightmare situation will now intensify. His freedom to travel was revoked. He has to wear a GPS tracking device until a trial is scheduled which could be numerous months or even a year away.
He will have to report to the court frequently for status checks and invasive questioning about his personal life. His banks and insurance companies will in all likelihood cancel services.
Many of his “friends” will flee from him worried about their association. The intent of prosecutors is to use their power and every tool available within the justice system to destroy his life.
The political divisiveness in our society rages so rampantly now that no American is safe from political persecution. Abuse of or within the justice system is not justice at all.
If we continue to allow politics to infect and influence our legal system, it will not survive.
Just ask Allen Weisselberg or Tom Barrack.
Rick Gates has worked on U.S. and international political campaigns over a span of 25 years. He is a frequent political commentator and opinion contributor. Rick is the author of "Wicked Game: An Insider's Story on How Trump Won, Mueller Failed and America Lost." Read Rick Gates' Reports — More Here
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