When the Stage Becomes a Crime Scene

Trump’s enablers want Beyoncé, Oprah, and Al Sharpton prosecuted for campaign appearances; because appearing at a non-Trump rally is now racketeering, and showing up in heels is a felony.

Guest article by Michael Cohen

I’ve seen a lot of stupid things in politics. I’ve been part of more than a few. But my Substack subscribers, this one takes the cake: There are now actual calls; from inside the Oval Office, for the prosecution of Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, my long time friend Reverend Al Sharpton and others. Why? Because they showed up at campaign events for Kamala Harris. Not with envelopes of cash or classified documents in their pockets; but with microphones, livestreams, and a whole lot of name recognition.

Let me be clear: President Trump didn’t wake up one morning, flip on CBS Mornings, and suddenly decide Beyoncé was a national security threat. No, this nonsense is being pushed and fed to him by the gaggle of enablers, sycophants, and dollar store Rasputins whispering in his ear 24/7. These are people who believe that prosecuting pop stars for campaign events is a good use of government resources. These are the same people who, if they saw Taylor Swift blink twice on Instagram, would launch a congressional inquiry, screaming, “it’s a morse code to the Russians.”

Now look, I’ve worked for Donald. I know the playbook. This isn’t about legality. It’s about distraction, projection, and weaponized spectacle. You toss out a wild accusation; something so absurd, so headline grabbing, that it drowns out actual scandals. Like the Epstein file. Think of it as the political version of lighting a trash can on fire so no one notices your house is in foreclosure.

So here we are, parsing through Truth Social posts that scream in all caps, “YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PAY FOR AN ENDORSEMENT!” as if that’s even what happened. Spoiler alert: it’s not. What happened is that the Harris campaign; like every modern campaign, paid production costs. Beyoncé’s company was hired to put on an event. Oprah helped organize a livestream. Reverend Al’s organization partnered on outreach. These weren’t hush-money payments. They were logistics. You know, staging, lights, sound; stuff that requires people who actually know what they’re doing. Trust me, I’ve been to Trump’s “rallies.” They could’ve used some of that Queen B polish.

But the enablers, the ones still cashing checks and vying for Cabinet jobs, they see an opening. They see Harris; former VP, formidable fundraiser, a Black woman who actually inspires people, and they panic. So what do they do? They drag out the tired playbook: scream “corruption,” blow smoke, and throw Oprah under the bus while they’re at it. It’s lazy. It’s embarrassing. And above all, it’s dangerous.

Let’s just pause and ask: Are we really going to pretend Beyoncé didn’t sing at a campaign event and that’s now a felony? That Oprah, who probably gave more Americans cars than some people in Congress gave their constituents voting rights, is secretly laundering campaign cash? That Reverend Al, who has been at this longer than most of Trump’s staffers have been out of middle school, is the criminal mastermind of the 2024 cycle?

Come on.

This isn’t law enforcement. It’s performance art; written by the same crew who think Hunter Biden’s laptop should be in the Smithsonian. And they’re using the full weight of the federal government to chase conspiracy theories instead of, I don’t know, fixing inflation or dealing with another Category 4 hurricane that’s about to wipe out half the Gulf Coast.

What’s even more absurd is that the numbers Trump is quoting change with every post. One day it’s $11 million to Beyoncé. The next it’s $2 million. Then it’s $600,000 to Reverend Al; for what, exactly? The man has a syndicated radio show and still works more hours than half the cabinet. Trump’s team isn’t citing official records, they’re pulling figures out of thin air, like a bad episode of Shark Tank where everyone’s drunk.

Let me bring it home with this: when I hear that this administration is seriously floating prosecutions against Oprah, Beyoncé, and Reverend Al Sharpton, not because of evidence or wrongdoing, but because they dared to support someone other than Trump, I don’t just shake my head, I worry. I worry about what happens when fantasy becomes policy. When the criminal justice system becomes just another campaign tool. And when those around the President; who should know better, choose to stoke the flames of delusion rather than douse them.

If this is the future of American politics; where celebrity guests at campaign events are accused of racketeering and every appearance fee is treated like a bribe, then we’ve gone from democracy to daytime soap opera. And the sad part is, even those have better writers.

So no, Beyoncé is not getting indicted. Oprah is not headed to Guantanamo. And Reverend Al isn’t laundering campaign money through the Teleprompter. But the people pushing this crap? They should be ashamed. Because when everything becomes a crime, nothing is. And if we’re not careful, that’s the real scandal we’ll all be living in.

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