GOP 'self-abasement' grows over loyalty to Trump — but 'the judiciary is unimpressed': ex-DOJ attorney

In a Monday, October 2 op-ed published by The Guardian, former U.S. Department of Justice New York-based attorney Lloyd Green points out that as ex-President Donald Trump maintains his lead among 2024 GOP candidates, his legal troubles worsen by the day.

After receiving his fourth indictment in August over efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, New York State Justice Arthur F. Engoron found the former president liable for fraud last month, just days before the Monday, October 2 start of his civil trial in New York Attorney General Letitia James' multimillion lawsuit against Trump, two of his sons and the Trump Organization.

Green notes Engoron's "decision could ultimately cost Trump his brand. Business certificates of the Trump Organization and other Trump subsidiaries will be cancelled, ditto certificates of companies owned by Trump and his two older sons. In addition, defendants could face up to $250m in penalties."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

Furthermore, Green writes:

Still, Tuesday's ruling wasn't the final word. Things grew worse on Thursday when an intermediate appellate court refused to bar the case from proceeding to trial. 'It is ordered that the motion for a stay of trial is denied,' the order read.

One day earlier, Tanya Chutkan, the judge presiding over the special counsel’s election interference case, had refused to disqualify herself.

Despite Trump's increasingly perilous legal trouble, the ex-DOJ attorney adds, still, "there is nothing" the GOP candidates "can do other than bleat like sheep and wait. Even Brian Kemp, Georgia's governor and Trump nemesis, knows the score. He pledged to back Trump if he" wins the GOP nominee.

"The self-abasement continues," Green writes. "It is unlikely that any of these developments will impact Republican primary voters or the Republican field. Since Trump was first indicted in late March, his popularity among Republicans has only grown. At the same time, his leading rivals won't raise his legal woes as an issue. They know the base wouldn't stand for it."

However, despite their loyalty to Trump, Green emphasizes "the judiciary is unimpressed."

READ MORE: 'Raving-mad criminal': Why Trump’s GOP critics can’t save US from a 'nakedly authoritarian demagogue'

Green's full op-ed is available at this link (subscription required).