When Donald Trump made a campaign stop at Palmetto State Armory a few weeks ago and joked about buying a pistol with his image emblazoned on the grips, Democrats and the media went into a multi-day frenzy of speculation about whether the former president broke the law since he’s currently under indictment and unable to lawfully purchase a firearm.
Trump’s campaign later made it clear that the candidate did not actually attempt to take possession of the gun, but now another firearm in Trump’s orbit is sparking all kinds of speculation on the left that the former president may have violated federal gun laws. The website MeidasTouch ran a story about a charity auction that took place at Mar-a-Largo last week, which included a Glock pistol with Trump’s visage etched into the handgun’s case.
Writing for MeidasTouch, J.D. Wolf reported that someone in attendance placed a bid on it.
… As of Tuesday, it was unclear who the gun’s owner was. It was also unclear if Trump knew of the gun sale.
The outlet spoke to Dave Aronberg, the State Attorney for Palm Beach County, Florida.
Aronberg said, “Trump will be in legal jeopardy if the gun actually was his and he knew it would be auctioned off. The fact that Trump attended the event is evidence that he knew of the sale. Trump will probably say, however, that the gun wasn’t really his and that the event organizers just used his name and mugshot to raise money for the charity.
“These unanswered questions could lead to a criminal investigation, and prosecutors could ask the court to decide whether this violates Trump’s pre-trial release. At present, there’s not enough to establish wrongdoing, but this could become yet another headache for the former president.”
Yeah, it could… if there was any evidence whatsoever that the firearm in question actually belonged to Trump. As far as I can tell the auction was merely hosted at Mar-a-Lago, and there was nothing indicating that the items up for bid were personally owned by Trump at any time.
Given that the image of Trump that was used was reportedly his Georgia mug shot, that would mean that he would have had to take possession of the pistol after his arrest and indictment, which seems highly unlikely to me.
Aronberg is also a staunch critic of Donald Trump; a quotable figure when the media needs someone in a position of authority to speculate about the potential legal troubles for the former president. Back in 2017 Aronberg and his Trump-supporting wife divorced in a very public fashion, including a press release sent out by Lynn Aronberg’s public relations team headlined “The Trump Divorce” that included the statement, “a staunch Republican and supporter of President Donald Trump, Lynn also said she felt increasingly isolated in the marriage.”
So, you’ve got a prosecutor with an axe to grind, a pistol with Trump’s face on it that was auctioned off at his club and residence, but no evidence whatsoever that the gun in question belonged to Trump or that he was even aware it was among the items being offered for bid to benefit the Forever Family Rescue Foundation. Doesn’t sound like there’s any real smoke, much less a fire, but that won’t stop the most ardent anti-Trumpers from claiming without merit or reason that maybe this be the scandal that undoes his aspirations to return to the White House.
