Weekly Opinion Editorial
NOT ABOUT DOCUMENTS!
by Steve Fair
Former President Donald Trump made history when he was indicted last week by Department of Justice (DOJ) Special Counsel Jack Smith on 37 counts of mishandling sensitive government secrets. Trump becomes the first president to be indicted for federal crimes in our nation’s history and if convicted faces decades in jail. Trump’s personal aide, Walt Nauta, was hit as well with 6 felony charges of obstruction of justice for moving boxes (allegedly at Trump’s direction) of supposedly classified documents. Trump will be arraigned in Miami on Tuesday in front of federal district judge Aileen Cannon. Cannon, chosen at random, was appointed to the federal bench by Trump in 2020. She is reportedly not recusing himself.
Trump’s former Attorney General William Barr has been critical of his former boss. Barr says the DOJ gave the former president ample opportunity to turn over the documents. Barr says Trump would not have been indicted had he simply turned over the documents. Barr says the government acted responsibly and Trump acted irresponsibly in the attempt to retrieve what Barr describes were government documents. Fox News legal analysist, Andy McCarty said that if just half of what is alleged in the indictment is true that Trump is ‘toast.’ Four observations:
First, indictments are one side of a story. Every story/yarn- like a pancake- has two sides. Indictments are allegations- not always factual claims. Just because the DOJ says a law has been broken doesn’t mean it has. It still has to be proven beyond a shadow doubt in front of a jury. The most damning piece of evidence appears to be a voice recording of Trump telling a book publisher and others he was showing them classified documents, which is against the law. Is it possible Trump was trying to ‘fan the flames’ by recording the meeting and hopes to use the indictment to his political advantage?
Second, Trump has been unequally treated. Former U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton was not indicted by the DOJ for the same thing Trump is being indicted for. That is selective enforcement/prosecution. Hunter Biden’s secret payments from the Ukraine government and President Biden’s involvement in that has been largely ignored by the DOJ. Americans are losing respect for the DOJ because the rule of law is not equally enforced.
Third, Trump should dial down the hyperbole. Speaking to GOP activists at state conventions on Saturday, the former president called Smith ‘deranged,’ and said Smith’s wife ‘hates’ him. Smith may have a political agenda, but he is far from insane. Trump should focus on addressing the charges and not the prosecutor’s mental state.
Fourth, the goal is to derail Trump’s 2024 bid for president. If he would agree to not run, the DOJ would no doubt drop all charges posthaste. They want Trump to drop out. Not likely to happen. Plan B would be for Trump to win the GOP nomination and lose the general election. More likely to happen. Trump did not get the conservative Democrat vote in 2020 like he did in 2016. Polls show the indictment could hurt Trump with those swing voters in the general. Rest assured, this isn’t about documents- it is about an election.
In the coming days/weeks/months, Americans should remember four things: (1) a guilty person can be framed. (2) blind loyalty can create a false sense of security and can breed corruption. (3) excusing punishment for misconduct because someone else is misbehaving is not an acceptable excuse to misbehave. (4) every American has a constitutional right to their day in court and burden of proof falls on the government.
The irony is that if the trial goes past the 2024 election and Trump is the newly elected POTUS, he could simply pardon himself on his first day in office.
Indictment isn’t about documents- it is about 2024 election!Click the headline to read this full article, Indictment isn’t about documents- it is about 2024 election!, at FAIR AND BIASED
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