FROM THE OUTSIDE: Trump and “lawfare”

Legal proceedings can also be a form of political revenge, and the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump, is a recognized master of using lawsuits as a means of conflict and intimidation.

Some Latin American politicians denounce this as “lawfare,” the use of legal mechanisms to punish opponents. But in Trump’s case, it’s a more refined version.

Trump and his allies have threatened to sue dozens of his critics, both within and outside the political apparatus, including members of the media and academia, for expressing views against him. They do this fully aware that their chances of winning are slim, even with judges who may align with their thinking.

However, lawsuits—especially those that are prolonged and elevated to higher courts—can be costly, particularly for individuals or small businesses. They can even become burdensome for large corporations.

This stands out as a significant punishment, apart from the public debates steeped in political ideologies.

This is exactly what the recent lawsuits and accusations are aimed at, targeting a range of entities, including media companies that publish reports Trump labels “unfair”—like a possible loss in Iowa—and former lawmakers viewed as adversaries by his associates. One key figure in this is Republican Liz Cheney, a member of the committee that investigated the January 6, 2021, riots.

The committee’s work concluded that Trump supporters, encouraged by the president’s appearance at a rally, stormed the Capitol building to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the November 2020 election and Joe Biden’s victory.

Today, Trump and his allies are attempting to rewrite history. While they target Cheney specifically, they are also pushing the narrative that the insurrection was instigated by informants from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Legal actions may be pursued against one or more Democratic lawmakers or former lawmakers. However, Cheney stands out; she represents the old guard of the Republican Party.

These are merely the initial signs of what could become a period of politically charged legal persecution aimed at intimidating opponents and critics.

In any case, this method has long been used by Trump in his private business dealings, as evidenced by the more than 4,000 lawsuits he faced during his years as a real estate developer in New York. His approach was shaped by his time under the tutelage of Roy Cohn, the lawyer who served as legal counsel to the infamous communist witch-hunter Joseph McCarthy before becoming an advisor to New York Mafia families and eventually Trump’s lawyer.

Many of the legal actions Trump pursued in his business days were settled out of court, often because the opposing party could not afford the financial burden of continuing the fight. Now, the costs are political.