Donald Trump speaks in Coralville, Iowa on December 13; screenshot from C-SPAN video

Steve Corbin is emeritus professor of marketing at the University of Northern Iowa and a freelance writer who receives no remuneration, funding, or endorsement from any for-profit business, nonprofit organization, political action committee, or political party. 

Former President Donald Trump has recently been crying wolf by depicting America’s legal system as a “witch hunt” against him. Trump claims the New York, Georgia, Florida, and District of Columbia criminal cases—with 91 felony charges—are politically motivated to restrict his ability to run for president in 2024.

Anyone would realize the hypocrisy of Trump’s ploy if they knew he never declared “witch hunt” in the 62 lawsuits he filed and lost while contesting the 2020 election. Note: Trump-appointed judges were among the 80-plus magistrates who dismissed his election fraud lawsuits.

Let’s not forget that nine jurors (six men and three women)—not the judge—awarded E. Jean Carroll $5 million because of Mr. Trump’s sexual abuse and defamation. That’s a fact-driven verdict, not a witch hunt. A federal judge ruled the ex-president’s comments about Ms. Carroll were libelous. A second trial (Carroll v. Trump) is set to start January 15, the same day as the Iowa caucuses.

MAGA-Trumpers probably haven’t let it sink in that Judge Arthur Engoron of New York’s Supreme Court First Judicial District already ruled that Trump, his sons, and the Trump Organization repeatedly committed fraud during the last decade. Again, that’s a fact-driven decision, not a witch hunt.

Furthermore, to the best of my knowledge, Trump never cried wolf or uttered “witch hunt” in the 4,000-plus lawsuits that’s encompassed his life. Arizona Central-USA Today notes the former president has been the plaintiff 2,121 times and a defendant 1,929 times. That analysis breaks down Trump’s legal entanglements as follows:

1. seventeen political campaign cases; six within the last year;
2. 190 government and tax cases;
3. 85 product branding and trademark cases;
4. 1,863 casino-related cases;
5. 208 class action cases over contract disputes tied to real estate developments;
6. 130 employment cases;
7. 63 golf club-related cases;
8. fourteen media outlet or individual defamation cases;
9. 697 personal injury cases;
10. 622 real estate cases; and
11. 206 other miscellaneous cases.

Let’s also remember: as Eliza Relman and Azmi Haroun reported for Business Insider, “At least 26 women accused President Donald Trump of sexual misconduct, including assault, since the 1970s.” It’s no surprise Trump has not yet made good on his promise to sue “all of these liars” (his female accusers) after the 2016 election. Again, crying wolf.

Thanks to a December 6 compilation in Politico, here’s a quick review of the criminal cases currently before Mr. Trump that appear to be the real deal, as opposed to a witch hunt:

1. four felony counts in Washington, DC, related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election;
2. thirteen felony counts for election interference in Georgia;
3. 34 felony counts in New York in connection with hush money payments to a porn star;
4. 40 felony counts in Florida for hoarding classified documents and impeding the federal government’s efforts to retrieve them after Trump left office.

Perhaps Trump is now crying “witch hunt,” and his lawyers are trying to delay the criminal cases, so there won’t be any verdict until after the November 5, 2024 election.

Trump’s long history of legal issues began when he was 27 years old and charged in 1973 with violating the Fair Housing Act of 1968. That record should cause any reasonable registered Republican, independent, or Democrat to think twice (or maybe three, four, or five times) about whether this man is fit to lead the greatest country in the world and abide by the Constitution and the law.

The words of Theodore Roosevelt are fitting: “No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it.”