Trump's isolation deepens after his coup crew is hit with Arizona criminal indictments

Trump's isolation deepens after his coup crew is hit with Arizona criminal indictments
The January 6 co-conspirators are likely too wrapped up in their criminal cases to help Trump with another coup

By AMANDA MARCOTTE
Senior Writer
PUBLISHED APRIL 26, 2024 6:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) Because Donald Trump himself wasn't indicted, there was a surprisingly muted response to the announcement, late on Wednesday, that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes had indicted a school bus full of Republican activists and operatives on felony charges related to Trump's efforts to steal the 2020 election. A real "Trump himself or it doesn't count" bar has been set regarding interest levels in coup-related cases. The previous indictment for the same scheme in Georgia did include the former president, leading to his infamous mug shot from the Fulton County Jail. Plus, Trump himself is on trial in New York City on charges of cheating in the 2016 election, leading to a tasty stream of images of him looking bedraggled as he goes in and out of court. Hearing that Rudy Giuliani is getting arrested again just can't compete.

But it's time to take a longer look at these Arizona charges because they will have a major impact on Trump personally, even if he is not indicted (yet) for his role. These charges further erode his already-collapsing support system. Trump goes to court most days without family or friends, just his lawyers and security, people who are paid to be there. Despite his endless pleading, he can't even get his followers to show up to demonstrate outside the courthouse. The people who were willing to commit crimes to keep him in office in 2020 now have to face the real possibility that sticking by Trump's side raises their chances of going to prison. Even those foolish enough to take that risk, I suspect, are going to be too busy trying to fend off criminal charges from the last attempted coup to have much time to help Trump with planning the next one.

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To be certain, not everyone involved in the coup conspiracy has scootched away from Trump. Boris Epshteyn, a longtime Trump stooge, traveled with him Thursday to court in Manhattan, even as he didn't go into the building. Epshsteyn was among the 18 people indicted in Arizona on Wednesday. Notably, though, this is the first time Epshteyn has been in legal trouble — for his role in the coup, at least. He's been arrested twice before, once for bar-fighting in 2014 and again for groping women in a bar in 2021. The latter is a well-known way to impress Trump. Sure enough, shortly thereafter, Epshteyn's star began to rise in Trump world, even though the charges were later reduced to disorderly conduct. But Epshteyn is learning the lesson that seems to come for most Trump cronies: Stick with Trump and, sooner or later, you'll either be under arrest or striking a cooperation deal with the prosecution.

....(snip)....

Are Republicans finally starting to learn that Trump will never return the loyalty he's shown? His loneliness at trial is a promising hint that they may, finally, be starting to get it. Sure, Republican politicians like Speaker of the House Mike Johnson of Louisiana still know they have to make a big public display of kissing Trump's ring. (Though notably, he did so and then turned around and passed the Ukraine aid Trump hates.) But it's telling that even the biggest Trump bootlickers in Congress just keep not finding the time to visit him in New York, though his miserable expressions suggest he could use a little cheering up these days. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., knows the trial is right in her backyard, but somehow she couldn't take a day away from demagoguing about Ivy League universities to hold Trump's hand through it for a day. Maybe she's worried about the smell? It is hard to wash it out of those ugly blazers she loves wearing. Or maybe she, like an increasing number of Republicans, is finally starting to get it: Getting close to Trump and his various criminal schemes, even if it's just to sit through a trial, is dangerous business. Indeed it's best to leave him to hang out and dry. ................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2024/04/26/isolation-deepens-after-his-coup-crew-is-hit-with-arizona-criminal-indictments/