Last Friday, New York State judge Juan Merchan delayed, for at least the fourth time, President Donald Trump's sentencing in the so-called "hush money" prosecution in New York City. But this time, the court's decision to delay Trump's sentencing was not time-bound—it was indefinite.

"Justice" Merchan gave Donald Trump's lawyers a deadline of December 2 to file a fresh motion to dismiss the case in its entirety—likely on the grounds that a mistrial must now be declared in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's presidential immunity ruling this summer in Trump v. United States. The Manhattan District Attorney's office will then have one week to reply with their own cross-motion, in which prosecutors will presumably reiterate their previous request that the court instead hold Trump's sentencing decision in abeyance for the four years of his presidency. Fat chance of that happening!

Meanwhile, the tendentious prosecution of President Trump in Fulton County, Georgia is also on very thin ice. Most recently, the Georgia Court of Appeals also issued its own indefinite delay—this time, pertaining to its months-long pending planned appeal of Fulton County, Georgia Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee's curious order back in March, wherein he permitted embattled District Attorney Fani Willis to remain on the case as long as her retained "special prosecutor," her former illicit lover Nathan Wade, bowed out. The upshot is that Trump's Georgia prosecution is now also a dead case walking, so to speak.

At a federal level, moreover, so-called "Special Counsel" Jack Smith moved on Monday to formally withdraw his own two anti-Trump prosecutions in Florida and Washington, D.C.—those dealing with classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and the disputed 2020 election, respectively. Those two illegitimate cases from a thoroughly illegitimate "special counsel" are, thank goodness, now completely over. It is just a matter of formality before the two federal courts in question grant Smith's two unopposed requests for withdrawal. These are tremendous victories for the integrity of the rule of law.

All in all, then, we are therefore witnessing the complete and utter death of the Democrats' nefarious anti-Trump lawfare shenanigans—as I have been calling it, the "Democrat-Lawfare Complex." The key question now: How should President Trump respond once he resumes power in January?

Many on the housebroken "Right" are already suggesting that Trump simply forget about all the lawfare. Forget, Mr. President, about the fact they tried to bankrupt you! Forget, Mr. President, about the fact they tried to incarcerate you! Forget, Mr. President, about the fact they tried to ruin your life! (Heck, while we're at it, forget about the fact you came within millimeters of being assassinated on national television!) According to these effete voices, Trump should simply puff the proverbial peace pipe and try to move on the best he can. Be the "better person" and take the "high road," they say.

Nonsense.

As my friend John Yoo explained at this summer's National Conservatism Conference in Washington, D.C., the imperative for Trump to respond in some way is a matter of simple game theory. If you want fervent opponents to be deterred from future illegitimate, republic-destabilizing shenanigans, then you're going to have to knock them off their pedestals a little bit. If you want—as I do—a mid- to long-term equilibrium of neutral enforcement of the rule of law, then (perhaps paradoxically) you're going to have to escalate things a bit in the short term. So do not pardon prodigal presidential son Hunter Biden (if Uncle Joe hasn't already by the time Trump takes office); on the contrary, it's time for a brand-new Department of Justice special counsel investigation to look into his shady overseas business dealings. Heck, while we're at it, can't an ambitious red-state district attorney somewhere across the country find a good reason to press charges against Anthony Fauci?

The only way out, as I've explained before, is through. President Trump must not forget that.

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Our highlighted Newsweek op-eds this week include selections from Sens. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.); Rep. Ron Estes (R-Kans.); Mark Goldfeder; Aviva Klompas; and Ted Balaker.

We will be back in your inbox next Wednesday! I wish all of you and your families a very Happy Thanksgiving!