The United States vs. Donald J. Trump
By: Ira Kawaller
Tags: Rule Of Law, Politics, Justice, Criminal Justice

12/26/20

The one-two punches of President Trump’s refusal to recognize and acknowledge the legitimacy of his defeat and his flagrant abuse of his pardon powers are appalling displays of his disregard for critical pillars of the American way of life: devotion to the democratic tradition of voters choosing their leaders and the supremacy of equal justice under the law. Trump and his base seem willing to overlook those cherished principles, and too few of his fellow Republicans have anything to say about it.

Trump’s lack of good character and moral inadequacies have been evident well before he threw his hat into the political ring, starting with his rush to judgment for the Central Park Five, his promotion of the vile birthing lie, his disgusting comments about pussy-grabbing on national TV, and his record of stiffing workers and contractors while heading the Trump organization — all before the first primary of the 2016 election. And yet, all of that was overlooked. Not only did he manage to become the candidate of the Republican party, but he was elected to the most powerful position in the world! To this day, I can’t fathom how such a flawed individual garnered that level of devotion and support.

All the while he has been president, the guardrails protecting our democracy from autocracy have been dismantled, and we’re now in a waiting game, watching to see what comes next, holding our breath until January 20. But then what?

Arguably, the worst aspect of Trump’s behavior is the dilemma that it sets for the incoming Justice Department. On one hand, in an effort to heal the political divide in our country, the department can simply ignore a variety of allegations of federal crimes, including (a) the campaign finance law violations in connection with “individual-1’s” complicity with respect to hush money payments to Stormy Daniels, (b) flagrant violations of the Hatch Act in the 2020 run-up to the election, (c) possible corruption and illegality in connection with pardoning his political cronies (i.e., rewarding them for their silence and obstructing justice), and (d) granting of other pardons plausibly motivated by some quid pro quo. On the other hand, turning a blind eye to credible allegations would set a dangerous precedent. It makes a lie of the proposition that no man is above the law. This predicament presents a horrible Hobson’s choice. Still, there’s no way around it. The Justice Department will pursue one path or the other.

If for no other reason than the fact that Trump still appears to have political ambitions, I feel that the proper choice has to be to investigate the allegations. If he were to sail into the sunset, never to be heard from again, I supposed I’d be willing to ignore his potential crimes and simply say, “good riddance.” But that’s not the case. Trump seems to be setting himself up to maintain a position of influence; and given that, he needs to be held accountable for his past actions. The Justice Department should investigate, and if an indictment follows, he should be subject to whatever judicial outcome results. At the very least, however, if crimes were committed, all of the many millions of dollars that Trump has managed to con out of his deluded followers in his quest to reverse the outcome of the election deserve to be confiscated.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before this issue can be considered, a new Attorney General has to be approved, and this matter will surely be a part of the hearings. Trump has poisoned the well so thoroughly that even the historical precedent of deferring to an independent Special Counsel is likely to be seen as being politically motivated and suspect. I can already hear the charges of “hoax” and “witch hunt” at the mere mention of this possible resolution. We’re only starting to realize the damage that Trump has wrought. All the more reason for an inquiry to proceed.