Thread by @DavidAFrench

I'm not sure if you're noticing, but there's been a recent shift in the anti-anti-Trump defense of Trump's deranged behavior from "these lawsuits might have merit" to "hahahaha this is revenge for the 'Russia hoax' and impeachment." This is absurd, for many reasons. /1

Trump's defenders constantly want to memory-hole his campaign's misconduct, but there were real reasons to investigate his campaign. His son, campaign chair, and son-in-law met with a Russian lawyer in the attempt to get dirt on Hillary Clinton. /2

Trump's campaign chair, Paul Manafort, was in active, clandestine communication with a Russian agent and provided the agent with internal campaign information. The campaign attempted to use Roger Stone to set up a back-channel communication with Wikileaks, a Russian asset. /3

Senate intel assessed that Trump spoke with Stone and members of his campaign about those contacts -- even as Trump told the special counsel that he did not recall discussing Wikileaks with Stone. /4

Also, the Trump organization was in talks during the campaign about forging business relationships in Russia, and Trump's lawyer lied to Congress about those contacts. Moreover, the campaign's key foreign policy adviser was an unregistered foreign agent for Turkey. /5

On the impeachment front, the evidence is overwhelming (including from the "perfect" transcript) that Trump attempted to condition vital foreign aid on a desperate ally's pledge to investigate a political opponent AND an absurd Crowdstrike conspiracy theory. /6

None of these events justify the Steele Dossier, FISA abuses, or wild speculations about voting machines being hacked, but the Trump team's conduct was improper and it should have been subject to intense investigation and bipartisan condemnation. /7

In the months and years after Trump leaves office, there will be an intense effort on the right to whitewash his corruption, and rationalizing or minimizing the events above will be part of that effort. It should not succeed. /8

By contrast, the current Trump legal effort to overturn the election is built on nothing at all of any consequence. Its lawsuits are frivolous. Its conspiracy theories are nonsense. And even as "revenge" they're nonsensical. /9

Delaying the transition doesn't teach liberal media a lesson, but it may harm national security. Filing clownish lawsuits doesn't stop Biden, but it does discredit the attorneys and their media apologists and bilk sad and angry Trump supporters out of money. /10

Revenge? No. It's a sad and pathetic temper tantrum that hurts no one more than the Trump and his enablers. They're driving their legal clown car into their own political crowd. /end