US: Democrats to face acid test on ongoing probe against Donald Trump

The Democrats have stemmed a Republican Red Wave and a Tsunami, limited the losses in the house and successfully retained the majority in the Senate but face very stiff challenges before they can seal the deal ahead of the 2024 Presidential run to eliminate the former president Donald Trump from the race altogether by ensuring the ongoing probes against him are not scrapped.

The new Congress -- Senate and House -- will reconvene in January 2023, with just a year left for the 2024 presidential run, and the Republicans have the house, albeit with a razor thin majority at 222 to democrats 213, nine representatives more than the earlier numbers of 220 to 212.

Democrats have lost 7 seats and Republicans have gained 10 seats. If Democrats need to do something, they have to do it now before the new house convenes.

The Republican majority could cause a lot of problems for the Democrats who have launched three major investigations under the umbrella of the congress where Trump was under fire.

If the Republicans numbering 222 all join hands to vote together, they can scrap the January 6 panel, find some ways to block congress from reviewing the Trump Tax records, and squash the DOJ investigation under the espionage act of Trump not returning those 11,000 files to the National Archives where they rightfully belong.

Hypothetically, all this can happen if the republicans can vote together in a majority. What if they don't, given the deep dissensions with the GOP in the aftermath of the November midterm narrow margin victories of the Republicans and loss in the senate.

The Republicans move can be blocked if dissenting republicans numbering over 10 join hands with the democrats and vote, which means 223 for democrats and 212 for the republicans.

The arithmetic is not some calculation in the air but is very much possible considering how billionaires and media barons are crying for the blood of Trump and stop his melodrama and jockey their current favorite Ron DeSantis in place for the 2024 presidential run, media networks such as CNN and Fox News have revealed.

No Trump in primaries, if investigations continue and an indictment follows, while most democrats and dissident republicans might stop short of an indictment in a gesture of goodwill for the 2016 winner.

But Trump still has a major hurdle to cross -- the civil and criminal investigation into his alleged Tax frauds in lower Manhattan from where he runs the Trump businesses.

His CFO has pleaded guilty in the criminal and civil suits against him for collusion in the perpetration of tax fraud over 10 years in which Trump allegedly inflated property values, secured loans fraudulently from banks (Deutsche bank) and systematically avoided paying taxes and instead got tax breaks.

New York attorney general Letitia James has sued him for $250 million in punitive damages to recover the unpaid taxes from him and his grown up children who are directors' in the business.

This is a case in which the Congress will not be able to interfere but only Trump lawyers can get him out and seems very tough, as his CFO in Trump business Weiselberg has turned approver and pleaded guilty. Another conspiracy theorist of stolen elections and strategist of January 6 riots Steve Bannon is behind bars for orchestrating the riots as he was caught on tape on his podcast.

--IANS

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