What did Donald Trump do today?

He threatened to imprison anyone who might have noticed corruption and criminality in his administration.

Trump's subdued reaction over the last few days to the overwhelming rejection voters sent him and his party on Tuesday appears to be ending. Today, he posted this to his social media, "ordering" the DOJ to find criminal charges to bring against the Democrats who will now have the power to investigate him.  

 

No such statement by Sen. Slotkin exists, but it's certainly true that Democratic majorities have promised to investigate Trump much more thoroughly than Republicans have. And Trump's argument in response is that it is a criminal act, subject to investigation, for Congress to investigate his administration for criminal acts.

Given that corruption was a major theme in the massive anti-Trump wave in this year's elections, Trump is also declaring himself beyond the judgment of the American people, and not merely their representatives in Congress.

This isn't new behavior for Trump, who launched his political career by leading crowds in chants of "lock her up" about his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton. In fact, Trump so regularly threatens to use the power of the state to punish his political opponents—and so rarely succeeds—that today's outburst really isn't that remarkable all by itself. Neither is accusing his opponents of behavior he is engaging in. 

What is unusual about today's eruption is the urgency and fear it shows. Contrary to his public bluster on the subject, Trump was deeply hurt by the impeachment proceedings against him in the first term, both for what they revealed about his conduct, and how little public support there was for him. He's also clearly worried about future impeachments, lashing out less than 48 hours after Election Day with a threat to Democrats that impeaching him would "destroy" their party—something that he would welcome if he thought it were true.

That fear isn't unfounded. Even with more than enough Republicans in the Senate to block the 67-vote majority necessary for conviction in an impeachment proceeding, there is clearly less support for him among Republicans now that he is unquestionably in the lame duck phase of his political career. And unlike in 2020 and 2021, when Republicans controlled the Senate and were able to use their majority voting power to avoid an embarrassing public examination of the evidence, there would be little reason for Democrats to pull any punches. 

Even then, in Trump's second impeachment for his attempts to lead a revolt that would keep him in power, seven Republicans voted to convict him. That may be why Trump's post today more or less openly pleads with Republicans not to abandon him.

Trump's staff is at even greater risk than he is: no theory of presidential immunity shields them from prosecution, and even if Trump issues the blanket pardons he's hinted at before leaving office, they can still be charged at the state level for many crimes. Worse for Trump—who is unlikely to suffer imprisonment, given his age and health, but whose ill-gotten assets and legacy are still at risk—they can forced to testify about what they knew. 

That—and the fact that Trump has turned on his own supporters when they told the public what they knew—is part of why an exodus of staff has been underway for months, and several more high-profile officials have left since Tuesday.

Why does this matter?

• Every presidential administration in history has been investigated by Congress, but only Trump treats it like a mortal threat, and there's a reason for that.