In February 2016, law enforcement officials armed with a warrant conducted a 10 p.m. raid on Hastings’s Hillsboro home, where his visiting father-in-law was ordered out of the house into the freezing night. The purpose of the raid, according to the search warrant, was to look for evidence of residency — one of the eventual charges against him was election falsification for not living where he said he lived — with investigators meticulously documenting the underwear of Hastings’s wife, their young child’s toys, and even the serial number of their commode. When the raid was reported, it was met with general outrage.

Likewise, the raid on Trump’s personal attorney, apparently to probe issues far removed from the original Russian interference and collusion mandate, could well be a tipping point in Trump’s favor. Most people, regardless of their political leanings, don’t like it when it appears an investigation has become more personal than professional, veering off the beaten path to find something — anything — just to claim a win.

At Hastings’s trial, the judge threw out two of the four charges and a jury unanimously acquitted Hastings of the others. He’s still the mayor. Not surprisingly, Hastings sees in Trump a kindred spirit trying to make systemic changes against a “deep state” resistance that uses criminal investigations and political-correctness police to maintain the status quo.