WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the age of constant outrage, scandals come and go at lightning speed.

One controversy dominates the headlines in the morning.

Another replaces it by nightfall.

Then another arrives the next day.

The cycle never stops.

And according to one former federal prosecutor, that may be exactly the problem.

Because while Americans are consumed by the latest political firestorm, Harry Litman says a far more consequential story may be unfolding largely unnoticed—and the human cost, he argues, is enormous.

In a sharply worded essay published Wednesday, the former deputy assistant attorney general accused President Donald Trump of leading the public from one controversy to the next so rapidly that attention is constantly diverted away from actions that deserve far greater scrutiny.

The warning was stark.

And deeply unsettling.

Litman argued that Trump’s administration has become so engulfed in controversy that even allegations involving military operations, civilian deaths, and billions of dollars in spending struggle to remain in the public conversation.

“We are already giving this tinpot dictator far more attention than he deserves,” Litman wrote.

But then came the sentence that captured the concern driving his entire argument.

“And yet not nearly enough to keep vigil over the enormous costs of his lawlessness.”

For Litman, the issue is not merely political.

It is about consequences.

Lives.

Money.

Accountability.

And whether Americans can still focus on one crisis long enough to fully understand its impact before the next controversy arrives.

His criticism centers on an intensified bombing campaign in South America that he claims has received far less public attention than it deserves.

According to Litman, the military operations have already resulted in nearly 200 deaths and billions of dollars in costs.

He argues that the campaign raises profound legal and ethical questions about the use of American military power.

Questions, he says, that are being drowned out by the endless noise of Washington politics.

The image he used to describe the situation was unforgettable.

Trump, he wrote, moves from scandal to scandal “like a drunken sailor.”

The result, Litman argued, is a public that struggles to keep track of what matters most.

One controversy pushes another out of view.

Then another follows.

And another.

Until the cumulative weight of what has happened becomes almost impossible to grasp.

The warning arrives at a moment when the Trump administration is already facing criticism on multiple fronts.

Among the controversies Litman highlighted was the so-called Signalgate scandal, in which senior administration officials were accused of sharing sensitive military planning information through a private encrypted messaging platform rather than approved government channels.

The controversy sparked outrage when details reportedly reached journalists, raising concerns about security protocols and operational secrecy.

Yet Litman argues even that story has gradually faded from public attention.

The same, he says, is true of ongoing disputes surrounding heavily redacted files connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Each scandal briefly dominates the national conversation.

Each generates outrage.

Each sparks demands for answers.

And then something new appears.

The cycle repeats.

The previous controversy disappears.

Public attention moves elsewhere.

According to Litman, that constant churn creates a dangerous environment where accountability becomes increasingly difficult.

The concern is not merely that scandals exist.

The concern is that Americans may no longer have the capacity to fully process them before the next one arrives.

Meanwhile, the consequences continue accumulating.

Money continues being spent.

Policies continue being implemented.

Military actions continue unfolding.

And in Litman’s view, the public is left trying to chase events that never stop moving.

His most dramatic claim involved the scale of the alleged bombing campaign itself.

“Two hundred people killed in secret, in international waters, without legal authority, without evidence of effect, at a cost of nearly five billion dollars,” he wrote.

“It is still happening, under our noses as it were, but we’re focused on other things.”

The statement immediately ignited discussion among legal experts, political observers, and critics of the administration.

Supporters of Trump have frequently dismissed such accusations as politically motivated attacks from longtime opponents.

Critics counter that oversight becomes even more important when government actions involve military force, classified operations, and billions in taxpayer funds.

The debate is unlikely to end anytime soon.

But Litman’s broader warning may prove harder to dismiss.

Because it raises a question that extends beyond any single administration.

In an era of nonstop outrage, endless headlines, and social media-driven attention spans, what happens when the public becomes overwhelmed by the sheer volume of controversy?

What happens when every scandal competes against ten others?

And what happens when the most important stories become buried beneath the loudest ones?

For Litman, the answer is already visible.

He believes Americans are watching history unfold.

The troubling part, he says, is that many may not realize it until much later.

And by then, the cost could already be counted in lives, billions of dollars, and opportunities for accountability that have long since disappeared.