He isn't being protected as a political candidate. But I don't think they'll convict him of anything in a court of law. That might expose way too much about what they all do. I agree with your last sentence there.As I said elsewhere (expanding on what I typed above) the TDS folk and their counterpart the Trump apologists are the only groups treating this like a major event.
They aren't the causes of the theatrics but they are the theatrics' target audiences.
Trump *was* protected as long as he stayed in his lane (shady real estate and branding operations with sidelines in banking and investment fraud as well as reputed money laundering). Did he get sued a lot? Yeah, that comes with being shady. But it was only after he blundered into politics and threatened to rock *that* gravy boat that he was targeted for prosecutions. He was soaking up cash to which the career politicos felt they were entitled; of course they pulled out the knives. They're every bit as corrupt and malicious as Trump and more practiced at using the injustice system to secure their privileges.
If a member of a rival crime family shows up uninvited at a meeting then starts grabbing cash off the table and shoving it into his coat pockets he shouldn't act surprised when someone gives him a severe case of lead poisoning.
...and they'll never charge him with an actual crime directly related to his official acts *as* president. That's a precedent they won't touch with a thousand meter pole.