For all their affectations to equality, republicanism, and the eschewing of class systems, Americans nonetheless respect hierarchical privilege.

No ‘class’ of person inherits hierarchical privilege more than ex-Presidents.

Whatever the team, whatever the battle, immunity from prosecution (or from the ultimate consequences of prosecution) for Presidents, ex-Presidents, and other executive branch members, has long been a trademark of American political culture. This privilege – unjust though it may sometimes be – ultimately serves to protect the body politic from debilitating legal and cultural warfare that could otherwise overwhelm American society.

As much as some Republicans detest the Clintons, as questionable as Dick Cheney’s business connections were, and as unethical as Barrack Obama could be in neutering political opponents – the sometimes uncomfortable, but begrudgingly necessary practice of leaving sleeping Presidential dogs to lie after their time in office has generally always been adhered to. It is why Gerald Ford felt justified in pardoning Richard Nixon, and why – despite his egregious moral failings – most Americans didn’t want to see Bill Clinton ruined over the Lewinsky affair.

Put simply, whilst Washington will always have internecine tensions that might encourage the complete and total destruction of former heads of state, main street America doesn’t want – and can’t withstand – the spectacle of having its kings beheaded in the street post office.

Unsurprisingly, the election of Donald Trump has again seen a re-writing of the rules.

Democrats, in coalition with the FBI, and the Department of Justice which oversees the agency, will not halt in their pursuit of Trump. It is highly likely that in the not too distant future, the world will be treated to the spectacle of the 45th President of the United States being hauled off the Golf course in handcuffs.

Trump is being pursued on three fronts by his three most powerful enemy constituencies: The January 6th commission, driven chiefly by Liz Cheney and the establishment Republican Party which he exposed, upended, and usurped in 2016; The New York investigation into his business affairs, led by Democrat Attorney General Letitia James and backed by the party machine which was historically humiliated by Trump; And finally, the intelligence agency inquiries, headed publicly by FBI Director Christopher Wray, and backed by the vast resources of the Department of Justice, with which Trump battled furiously whilst in office.

It would be utterly naive to think that each of the three inquiries stands independently of one another. More naive, still, to think there aren’t Democrat strategists actively assessing the viability of each pathway in taking down the likely Republican candidate for the 2024 Presidential race.

The most benign of the three ‘Get Trump’ options is the January 6th committee. The sensational headlines are falling flat in the electorate. Though Trump did not behave appropriately in the circumstances, voters have seen the evidence and determined him not to be the existential threat to Democracy that his political opponents would have him painted as. The congressional performative theater from Adam Kinzinger has bounced like a Dead Cat. The poster boy for erotic Trumpian loathing did not even bother to contest his primary and will exit at the midterms.

Letitia James’ New York Investigation is a significantly more dangerous prospect for Trump. James is wildly ambitious within the Democratic party but does not yet occupy a position of national prominence. She, therefore, has very little incentive to halt her inquiry. If she overreaches, the backlash will not fall at her feet. If she does manage to dig up hard dirt on Trump’s business practices, she’ll ascend even more rapidly – perhaps over Kathy Hochul as Governor of New York, but more likely to the Senate in place of Chuck Schumer.

Speaking of Schumer, it was he who gave a prescient warning about the likelihood of Trump’s future entanglement with the intelligence agencies. As he said to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow back in 2017, ‘Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.’

This is where the greatest danger for Trump lies. It is extraordinary that the raid on Mar-a-Lago took place, and even more extraordinary that it was signed off on under at first vague, then somewhat incoherent pretenses. ‘Sources’ then emerged to make mention of nuclear secrets and national security threats, despite there being no specific mention of nuclear secrets on the now-released search warrant.

The apparatus of the military command chain puts even sitting Presidents at arm’s length from planning nuclear options, and former executives would have no possible motive, facility, or practical application for retaining nuclear secrets. The ‘nuclear’ mention is a wanton political ploy designed to raise the spectre of Catastrophe à la Trump in the public imagination. There he is, the crazed orange megalomaniac in his Bond-villain lair, ending the world by miscalculation after a rough drive on the back nine.

In all this though, it may be that it is Trump’s enemies who have miscalculated. The public blow-back from the Mar-A-Lago raid has been intense. Americans respect a tradition of leaving their former leaders in peace, and most are appalled at the incessant pursuit of Trump for base political reasons. They know also that once Trump is dealt with, Trumpism will remain, and that could well necessitate the take-down, bullying, and humiliation of his supporters.

Nancy Pelosi – the shrewdest of political operators – understood the implications of the public reaction immediately, and responded with feigned surprise at the raid. Joe Biden took off on holiday the day after and insisted he had no foreknowledge either. Then again, Joe is always on holiday…

So it may be that the pursuit of Donald Trump hits a roadblock on account of a spectacular and premature overreach by a Democratic establishment and intelligence community convicted of the need to convict.

It is more likely though, that once the dust settles on this episode of ‘Get Trump’, his pursuers will be back for more – justified or not. After all, Donald Trump’s threat to the Democrats, the intelligence agencies, and the Republican establishment is only intensifying over time. In contrast to all of his predecessors in office, the incentive for his enemies to prosecute Trump rises with every passing day.

Trump in chains – don’t bet against it.

Ben Crocker is a constitutional fellow at the American Conservative, in Washington DC. @RealBenCrocker