Maddow Blog | Trump Amplifies Message of Radical Retaliation Against Liz Cheney

The question of whether Donald Trump The question of whether the former president would attempt to pursue his perceived political enemies in a second term has already been answered. As we have seen, the former president has not only publicly acknowledged his intentions in multiple interviews, but he has also already made such attempts.

This realization raises questions about which enemies he will target and how he plans to hunt them. It is in this context that the New York Times reported:

One particularly interesting post was amplified by the former president, claiming that former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney was “guilty of treason.” The post — created by someone else, but promoted by Trump — encouraged other users of Trump’s social media platform to help spread the word “if you want televised military tribunals.”

As the Times report adds, military tribunals are a type of military court “reserved for enemy combatants and war criminals.”

The presumptive Republican nominee’s political team has had a chance to clarify, and perhaps even walk back, its statements. Instead, a Trump campaign spokesperson told the Times: “Liz Cheney and the sham January 6 Commission banned key witnesses, concealed important evidence and destroyed documents.”

Or, to put it another way, when asked why the former president amplified a message accusing the former House Republican chairman of “treason,” the Trump team redoubled its efforts to condemn the former congresswoman.

There is no shortage of problems here.

First, in reality, the bipartisan commission of January 6 was not a “sham”; it did not block witnesses, it did not block evidence, and it did not destroy evidence.

Second, the idea that Trump might prefer “military tribunals” for his political critics is just as troubling as it sounds.

And third, it was never entirely clear whether Trump knew what “treason” meant, although there is no doubt that he likes to use the word loosely – far more than he should.

The former president accused Barack Obama of treason. And Nancy Pelosi. And James Comey. He also considered treason investigations into Adam Schiff, the New York Times, Google and federal law enforcement officials. At one point, after one of his State of the Union addresses, Trump even suggested that congressional Democrats might have committed “treason” because they didn’t applaud to his satisfaction.

As the Republican seeks a second term, his list of “betrayals” continues to grow.

Things can get tense quickly, and they probably will. Axios reported overnight that Trump, if rewarded with a second term, “plans to immediately test the limits of presidential and governmental power.” The article goes on to note that the Republican “promises a decidedly imperial presidency — one that would turn the Justice Department against its critics.”

Moreover, all of this comes against the backdrop of a Supreme Court ruling that told Trump that the American presidency is effectively above the law.

Not to worry is to close your eyes.

This article was originally published on MSNBC.com