Trump's entire career and life 'could be in tatters' by next year's election: analysis

Former President Donald Trump is now facing four criminal trials, as well as a civil fraud trial in New York that has already effectively been ruled against him. And it hasn't yet truly sunk in for many people, including Trump's opponents, just how much of a disaster the next few months are going to be for him, argued Michael Tomasky for The New Republic on Monday.

"Liberals are wired to see disaster in everything," wrote Tomasky. "We’re not supposed to discuss matters like this in the tone I’m about to use. But I submit that in this case, a little optimism is warranted, because I think it’s quite possible that by next November 5, Trump could not only be a damaged candidate because of these cases, but his careers (political and business), and indeed his life, could be in tatters."

To begin with, Trump was already held liable under this statute last month, in a rare summary judgment order by Judge Arthur Engoron, which means he could very likely be on the hook for something close to $250 million in fines and a ban on doing business in New York State, which is what New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking in this week's jury trial.

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Then, the criminal trials will start, with two of the defendants in the Georgia election racketeering case already going to trial this month, before Trump's eventual trial. And next January, Trump will be in yet another civil trial, as writer E. Jean Carroll accuses him of defamation for a second time after he continued making the same false claims that ruled him liable in the previous trial. And then, Trump faces another trial that has been largely overlooked by the media, a suit, filed in 2018, alleging he and his family pushed get-rich quick schemes without disclosing payments from the companies behind them.

After that comes even more criminal trials, with Trump first going to trial for the federal 2020 elections case, then the New York business records fraud trial brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and then the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case.

All told, this is seven trials he will be facing, which will not only cause damaging coverage in the press, but rob him of time he could be on the campaign trail.

"This is why I’ve always said that come January 2025, there are not just two, but three, places Donald Trump might be living: the White House; Mar-a-Lago; or a dacha on the Black Sea, 30,000 square feet, easily the biggest and most beautiful dacha anybody’s ever seen," concluded Tomasky. "Or, of course, a federal prison cell. In a suit to match his face."