Former President Trump, his sons, and his companies are sitting on trial in a case filed by New York Attorney General Letitia James with state court Judge Engoron presiding. Pundits, anchors, and political commentators have expressed the common opinion that Donald Trump will be found “guilty” in that case — either because Trump did wrong or because the judge is biased against the Trump surname. Others have announced Trump will soon be in prison as a result of the claims pending against him in this case. There are things we can all know for certain. No one will be found guilty in that civil case, and no one will go to jail. The case is about money, not freedom. And, more so, is an open example of “lawfare” at its most destructive.
Unrestrained litigation at any cost, aka lawfare, is not a new concept but has earned recent attention due to Trump’s labeling of these cases as “witch hunts” and their high-profile and high-stakes nature. The New York case intends to fine Trump a fortune and punish him by putting his companies out of business. Team Trump’s legal bills and trial costs in this case will be measured in the many millions of dollars.
Trials are time-consuming. They are a non-physical war. In this case, there have been countless meetings, court appearances, filings, written requests for documentation, forensic accounting, depositions, oral arguments, eyewitness and expert testimony, and extensive motion practice. Everyone is on the clock.
While these are the
