By Ethan E. Montague
As the countdown to Tuesday, Nov. 5 begins, investigations into both major political opponents of the Biden Administration are underway. Donald J. Trump has been central to several investigations since becoming President. Still, Robert Kennedy Jr., also known as RFK, is now the focus of an investigation by the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
The DNC alleges that RFK has illegally coordinated with his Super Political Action Committee (PAC), American Values, by integrating their expenses with his campaign in violation of election laws. The DNC argues that many states, such as Arizona, have rules that candidates or campaigns must be the ones to collect signatures.
They also claim that $15 million in donations from top Trump donor, Tim Mellon, are being used to prop up RFK to lessen support from President Biden’s campaign. It’s unclear if this is being alleged as another violation of election law or a political argument against Kennedy.
On the other hand, Trump has seen two cases that have gone catastrophically bad for his finances. As the current leading candidate to win the 2024 election, according to polling, Trump has argued the trials strengthen his political support, showing what he says is a corrupt system; the two latest rulings present serious challenges to his ability to fund his campaign.
After E. Jean Carroll alleged that Trump raped her in the dressing room of a department store, Trump was ordered to pay $83 million in damages. Notably, the jury did not find that Trump raped her but did rule he had sexually abused her. A critical factor in the ruling was that this was a civil case, not a criminal one. For a criminal case, the jury would have to find Trump guilty of the allegations beyond a reasonable doubt, which many have argued they did not have evidence of given the length of time passed since the time she alleged the rape took place and the fact that she praised Trump’s TV show, “The Apprentice,” as recently as 2012. During the trial, when pressed by Trump’s lawyer about why she waited so long to make a claim, Carroll stated that she was born in 1943 and taught never to complain.
“I would rather do anything than call the police,” said Carroll.
Carroll also made another bizarre post asking people whether they would have sex with Donald Trump for $17,000 if they could keep their eyes closed. Carroll argued these posts were because “it’s much better to laugh than cry.”
Carroll also interviewed Anderson Cooper on CNN about the claims telling him, “I think most people think of rape as being sexy; they think of the fantasies.”
Many polls suggest the election will likely come down to who wins Pennsylvania, so PA voters were reached out to in order to gauge how the charges impacted their view of the candidates.
One PA Republican, Andrew Hartwig, felt the charges were a ploy to help Biden win the election.
“I think it’s a political ploy in an election year. Mainstream media is working with Democrats to paint a negative picture of Trump. It’s BS,” said Hartwig. “They’re trying to remove him from the ballot in some states. It’s clear-cut election interference.”
As for the second major ruling against Trump, the business tycoon has been ordered to pay $354 million in fines, reportedly at least $453.5 with pre-judgment interest, and banned from doing business in NY for three years. Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., his two eldest sons and business partners, were banned from doing business in NY for two years.
A Pennsylvania voter, Joseph Weeks, is undecided but didn’t think the charges seemed fair.
“I’m not sure the charges are a democratic ploy to lower his popularity for the upcoming vote,” said Weeks. “I also do not think that Trump has done anything malicious in his deal with New York banks concerning the loans, as he did what everyone else did.”
One 2020 Biden PA voter, who wished to remain unnamed, felt very strongly that so many legal cases against Trump throughout the years should make conservatives think again about supporting Trump.
“I’d never in a million years vote Trump. If I were a conservative, I’d think twice because there are too many things tied to him. It’s not just one scandal; it’s like 20, and he’s been ordered to pay close to a half billion. He used convicted felon/mobster Sammy the Bull, who admitted to involvement in 19 murders, as a character reference.”
The ruling was over the court’s verdict that Trump had overvalued assets to obtain loans, violating state fraud law. The loans were paid back.
Shark Tank personality and investor Kevin O’Leary went on a lengthy rant about Fox’s business, saying he didn’t think it had anything to do with Trump.
“Just leaving the whole Trump thing out of it and seeing what occurred here, and I’m no different than any other investor, I’m shocked at this. I can’t even understand or fathom the decision… We’re very worried; every investor is worried because where is the victim? Who lost the money? This is an arbitrary decision made by a judge. This policy … what does this say about the bar? About the legal bar in NY? Aren’t they going to question this judge? What is this? I’m sorry her words fell on everybody’s deaf ears. There’s nothing she can say to justify this decision. This has nothing to do with Trump. Forget about Trump, this is not a Trump situation, this is a NY problem,” said O’Leary.
O’Leary was also very concerned with the legal precedent this sets, noting on CNN that “there’s never been a case like this in 75 years; everything you just listed off is done by every real estate developer, everywhere on Earth, in every city. This has never, ever been prosecuted.”
Trump claims to have $400 million in cash, the rest dispersed among owned businesses and investments. As this is less than the amount he has been ordered to pay, he must decide quickly whether to liquidate assets to pay his fines, with the 2024 election just over 8 months away.