# Post ts_112281722129373250

- Post ID: `ts_112281722129373250`
- Platform: Truth Social
- Posted: 2024-04-16T15:58:33.614Z (UTC)
- Deleted: no
- Repost: no
- Canonical URL: https://trump.fm/post/ts_112281722129373250
- Analysis page: https://trump.fm/post/ts_112281722129373250/analysis
- Audio narration: https://static.trump.fm/audio/ts_112281722129373250.mp3 (a synthesized voice reading the post text, not a recording)

## Post text

> "The DOJ and FEC both looked at this and decided not to proceed…”Andy McCarthy Former Assistant U.S. Attorney

## What the media says

**Video transcript** (0:58), transcribed automatically, so names and numbers may be wrong. Speakers aren't identified, so a voice in it may not be his:

> What people really ought to be troubled by about this is Bragg isn't just trying to enforce federal campaign finance law. He's making up his own federal campaign finance law because the two federal authorities that actually do have jurisdiction to investigate these, the Justice Department and the Federal Election Commission, both looked at this and decided not to proceed against Trump because these are not campaign expenditures, number one, and number two, even if you assume for argument's sake that they were, the next reporting period after the Stormy Daniels payment, the non-disclosure agreement, wouldn't have been until after the 2016 election. It would have been in 2017. Bragg's theory here is that Trump violated his version of the campaign finance laws in order to steal the 2016 election. That doesn't make sense legally or factually.

## Media

- video: https://static-assets-1.truthsocial.com/tmtg:prime-ts-assets/media_attachments/files/112/281/721/998/059/547/original/59bb3846acd22e78.mp4

## Engagement

- Likes: 12,181
- Reposts: 3,803
- Replies: 601
- Views: unknown
- Metrics collected: 2026-02-01T01:19:51.360Z (UTC)

# Analysis

_Machine-generated by trump.fm on 2026-03-21T07:15:05.927Z (UTC): a model's reading of this post, not his words. Its psychological terms describe the language, not a clinical assessment of him._

## Summary

Trial day 1 communications post, high confidence aide-authored (11:58 AM EDT, business hours; clean formatting; surrogate-quote format). Amplifies former AUSA Andy McCarthy's argument that DOJ and FEC declinations delegitimize the Manhattan prosecution. Psychologically, this reflects managed narcissistic vulnerability: rather than direct rage expression, the communications operation deploys rationalization through institutional authority, using McCarthy's credential as a legitimacy proxy. Part of a five-plus post cluster on April 16 constituting a coordinated messaging campaign across formats (slogan, media quotes, URL, video). The DOJ/FEC claim is mostly true but elides the FEC's 3-3 deadlock, which was institutional paralysis rather than a substantive determination of non-criminality. The post fits a contamination narrative arc (legitimate federal institutions declined → only political actors pursued) consistent with the broader 2024 campaign identity construction. No authentic Trump stylistic markers present; no cognitive data extractable. Danger level: none.

# Analysis: ts_112281722129373250 — April 16, 2024

## Context
This post appears on the first day of Trump's Manhattan criminal trial (jury selection underway, 34 felony counts of falsifying business records). It is one of at least five posts on this date, collectively constituting a coordinated delegitimization campaign against the prosecution. The cluster includes direct sloganeering ("IF YOU CAN'T BEAT HIM, LOCK HIM IN A COURT ROOM"), surrogate quotes (Hannity, Byron Donalds, McCarthy), and a bare campaign URL — a recognizable multi-format blitz pattern.

## Authorship
**High confidence: aide-written.** Posted at 11:58 AM EDT while Trump was physically present in Manhattan for trial proceedings. Timing, clean formatting, proper attribution structure, and the surrogate-amplification format all point to Dan Scavino or communications staff operating a pre-planned media response grid for trial day 1.

## Psychological Dynamics
The communications posture reflects managed narcissistic vulnerability. Rather than direct rage (seen in the "LOCK HIM IN A COURT ROOM" post), this entry deploys rationalization through prosecutorial authority — a legally safer, more credentialed form of delegitimization. The defense mechanism is **rationalization** (neurotic level): federal non-action is framed as the definitive legal standard, making the state prosecution appear by contrast to be the aberrant act.

The pattern across the cluster reveals a **contamination narrative** at the macro level: legitimate legal institutions (DOJ, FEC) → political persecution (Manhattan DA). This narrative structure is consistent with the broader Trump identity construction of the 2024 campaign period.

## Fact Verification

| Claim | Verdict | Evidence |
|-------|---------|----------|
| "The DOJ looked at this and decided not to proceed" | **Mostly True** | The DOJ under both Trump and Biden administrations did not bring federal charges related to the hush money payments to Michael Cohen/Stormy Daniels. However, 'decided not to proceed' implies a formal declination after review; the reality is more nuanced — prosecutorial discretion rather than a documented formal declination on the merits. |
| "The FEC looked at this and decided not to proceed" | **Half True** | The FEC deadlocked 3-3 in 2021 on whether to pursue the matter, which prevented action but did not constitute a formal decision on the merits. A deadlock is not the same as a determination that no violation occurred. McCarthy's framing overstates the clarity of the FEC outcome. |

Overall Veracity: 65%

## Danger Assessment
None. This is standard legal-communications messaging.

## Cognitive Notes
Insufficient authentic text to assess cognitive markers; post is aide-authored.

## Authorship Analysis

**Aide-Written** (score: 10%)

### Indicators

- Posted at 11:58 AM EDT (business hours, strong aide indicator)
- Clean grammar, proper attribution with quotation marks and full name/title
- No typos or ALL CAPS
- Short media-clip amplification format with structured sourcing — signature Scavino pattern
- Part of a coordinated cluster of surrogate-quote posts on trial day 1

## Psychological Profile

### State

**Vulnerable State**

**Trigger:** Narcissistic Injury — Exposure (Manhattan DA hush money trial — first day of proceedings, jury selection underway)

Sentiment: -0.35

### Clinical

**Malignant Narcissism:**
- Narcissistic: 30%
- Antisocial: 10%
- Paranoid: 40%
- Sadism: 0%

**Defense Mechanisms:**
- rationalization (neurotic)
- projection (immature)

**Cognitive Complexity:**
- Complexity: 20%

**Parasocial Techniques:**
- Third-party authority proxy — surrogate voices deliver emotional content while maintaining deniability
- Implied shared grievance — audience primed to interpret the quote as confirmation of persecution narrative

## Danger Assessment

**NONE**

### Gaslighting

- Framing the FEC deadlock as a deliberate decision not to proceed — mischaracterizes institutional paralysis as substantive exoneration
- Implies federal non-action constitutes a finding of innocence, which attacks the legitimacy of the jury's future role in evaluating evidence

## Fact Checks (2)

_The model's verdicts from 2026-03-21._

> The DOJ looked at this and decided not to proceed

**MOSTLY TRUE**

The DOJ under both Trump and Biden administrations did not bring federal charges related to the hush money payments to Michael Cohen/Stormy Daniels. However, 'decided not to proceed' implies a formal declination after review; the reality is more nuanced — prosecutorial discretion rather than a documented formal declination on the merits.

Sources: General knowledge — DOJ non-prosecution of hush money matter is well-documented

> The FEC looked at this and decided not to proceed

**HALF TRUE**

The FEC deadlocked 3-3 in 2021 on whether to pursue the matter, which prevented action but did not constitute a formal decision on the merits. A deadlock is not the same as a determination that no violation occurred. McCarthy's framing overstates the clarity of the FEC outcome.

Sources: General knowledge — FEC deadlock on Cohen/Trump campaign finance matter is public record

Overall Veracity: 65%

## Tags

- aide-authored (95%)
- hush-money-trial (100%)
- delegitimization-campaign (90%)
- appeal-to-authority (85%)
- rationalization (80%)
- surrogate-amplification (90%)
- contamination-narrative (75%)
- managed-vulnerability (70%)

## That day

_From trump.fm's machine-generated digest of the day, not his words._

**Day One in the Dock: 27-Post Delegitimization Blitz as Criminal Trial Begins**

Trump spent Day 1 of his Manhattan criminal trial running a coordinated media counter-offensive from Truth Social. The morning opened with explosive, all-caps declarations framing the trial as an attack on America itself, then shifted into a steady stream of surrogate quotes from Fox hosts, Republican allies, and legal commentators all hammering the same message: the charges are illegitimate, the judge is biased, and the real victim is democracy. By evening the tone softened, pivoting to a Harlem bodega visit cast as proof he's "unstoppable." The day was dominated by a single obsession — delegitimizing the trial before any evidence could be heard.

Full digest for 2024-04-16: https://trump.fm/date/2024-04-16/analysis

## Citation

- APA: Trump, D. J. (2024, April 16). "The DOJ and FEC both looked at this and decided... [Social media post]. Truth Social. trump.fm. https://trump.fm/post/ts_112281722129373250
- MLA: Trump, Donald J. ""The DOJ and FEC both looked at this and decided not to..." Truth Social, 16 Apr. 2024. trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_112281722129373250. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.
- Chicago: Donald J. Trump, ""The DOJ and FEC both looked at this and decided not to...," Truth Social, April 16, 2024, archived at trump.fm, https://trump.fm/post/ts_112281722129373250.

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