'An aura of criminality': NYT report exposes Trump prosecutions as a 'trophy' for MAGA

President Donald Trump may not be serious about convicting the political foes that he is prosecuting. Instead, he may simply be "creating an aura of criminality" around those individuals as a way to give die-hard MAGA fans a "trophy" for their support, according to a new report from The New York Times.

The NYT reported on Sunday that Trump allies, especially federal prosecutor Jason A. Reding Quiñones in the Southern District of Florida, are expanding their investigation into a so-called "grand conspiracy" against Trump. Investigators have sent more than two dozen subpoenas as part of the case, according to the report, including to people such as former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former FBI agent Peter Strzok.

The report notes that the prosecution's theory relies on a narrative that is "still unsupported by the evidence:" that "deep state" Democrats somehow conspired to undermine Trump's 2016 campaign and subsequent presidency.

According to the NYT, the lack of evidentiary support for the narrative suggests that it is meant to serve another purpose.

"Whether the subpoenas will lead to charges, much less to convictions, is impossible to know," the report reads in part. "But merely creating an aura of criminality around Trump foes by celebrating incremental prosecutorial moves is a trophy in itself to die-hard Trump supporters, who have said that naming and shaming targets is a legitimate aim of law enforcement."

Read the entire report by clicking here.