Why Trump 'should be careful what he wishes for' with 'shameless' DOJ push

Four and one-half years after losing to Joe Biden — and five months into his second presidency — Donald Trump is calling for a special counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), now headed by Attorney General Pam Bondi, to investigate the 2020 election. Some hardcore MAGA conspiracy theorists are applauding the proposal, yet many others on the both the left and the right are lambasting Trump for clinging to a conspiracy theory that was repeatedly debunked during the final months of his first presidency.

One of those critics is Steve Benen, an MSNBC columnist known for producing "The Rachel Maddow Show." In his June 20 column, Benen lays out some reasons why Trump himself could be hurt by his push for a 2020 election probe at DOJ in 2025.

In a June 20 post on his Truth Social platform, Trump wrote, "Zero Border crossings for the month for TRUMP, verses 60,000 for Sleepy, Crooked Joe Biden, a man who lost the 2020 Presidential Election by a 'LANDSLIDE!' Biden was grossly incompetent, and the 2020 election was a total FRAUD! The evidence is MASSIVE and OVERWHELMING. A Special Prosecutor must be appointed. This cannot be allowed to happen again in the United States of America! Let the work begin! What this Crooked man, and his CORRUPT CRONIES, have done to our Country in 4 years, is grossly indescribable! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

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But according to Benen, Trump won't be doing himself any favor if Bondi-era DOJ moves forward with Trump's proposal.

"Look, there's little value in me writing a few hundred words to explain that Trump lost fair square and the 'overwhelming' evidence doesn’t exist," Benen argues. "Let's just stipulate that all fair-minded observers already know this. Instead, I'm going to note that Trump should be careful what he wishes for…. I mention this because Trump has already initiated investigations into his 2020 defeat."

Benen continues, "These investigators were motivated to tell their client exactly what he wanted to hear, but they simply couldn't provide Trump with proof that didn't exist. The same is true of state-based audits, which confirmed that the actual election results from that race were accurate. Now, the president is effectively saying that yet another investigation is necessary, since the original investigations, including the ones he paid for, were apparently too reality-based for him. What's more, the Justice Department is in the hands of shameless Trump loyalists who might very well find some far-right partisan willing to take on the duties of a special counsel."

Benen's column and Trump's special counsel proposal are receiving a lot of reactions on X, formerly Twitter.

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Ohio-based Democrat Rick Taylor tweeted, "Now Trump is calling for a special prosecutor to investigate the 2020 election Watch as they make false allegations and rewrite history right in front of our faces AND NOT ONE PERSON IN POWER WILL DO A DAMNED THING ABOUT IT Just like he changed the narratives for 2016 and 1/6."

X User Pete Masalsky lamented, "The sad thing is that he has his idiot flunkies everywhere and you know they're going to appoint a MAGA special prosecutor."

Attorney Paul Feinstein posted, "Didn't he claim in his criminal cases that special prosecutors weren't legal?"

X user Stefan Bethlenfalvay posted, "As Trump floats special prosecutor on 2020, he should be careful what he wishes for. 'The president has already initiated investigations into his failed 2020 candidacy. Now he wants a special counsel to tell him what he wants to hear.'"

Another X user, Charlotte Curtis, wrote, "He can lie all he wants but he can't change what we saw on January 6th, a traitorous act that he should have been imprisoned for immediately."

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Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.