Since announcement of the indictment of former President Donald J. Trump, leading Republicans have been braying loudly that this is all politics. Is the indictment, in fact, an important political event?
Yes, of course it is. The first indictment of a former president could hardly pass without vast political implications and consequences. But that is not the important question. The important issue, underneath all the political fallout, is whether Trump committed the criminal offenses with which he is charged. If ordinary citizens committed such acts, would they be indicted? If so, politics be damned. Trump, these days, has no standing beyond that of an ordinary citizen.
In perspective, it is the whining Republicans who are reducing the entire affair to pure politics. This is weaponization of the legal system, says Ron DeSantis, even though he may benefit from Trump’s travails. It is an outrage, says Mike Pence, even though Trump endangered his life. It is “probably not the best time to give up your AR-15s” says Tucker Carlson, as though he was not putting politics above the law.
Other Republicans, scared of the Trump base, are also circling the wagons. Kevin McCarthy accuses the prosecutor of trying to interfere in a presidential election (the upcoming one). Nowhere in all this blather is there a serious glimpse of the actual issues underneath the politics.
The first question ought to be: did Trump falsify business records in order to pay a porn star to keep quiet about what she calls “the worst 90 seconds of my life.” There is some damned good evidence that he did.
The second question is whether this was a violation of New York state law. A grand jury has concluded that it was.
Then there’s the question about whether the “hush money” was intended to influence the outcome of an election. Since Trump was in the midst of his presidential campaign at the time, that’s a fairly safe presumption.
And was that a violation of New York state law? A grand jury has apparently concluded that it was. By report, they have indicted Trump on more than two dozen counts.
Yes, the politics will rage around all this, and so be it. But in the end, these are the questions that should matter. Let all those who believe in the rule of law stand up and be counted. Let those who lost sight of the law be held accountable, some day, for their blindness.
Perhaps Trump and Bibi could hold a joint defense rally!