The Rule Of Law Prevails

“The classified documents TRUMP stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack. The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods.” — An excerpt from the indictment of Donald J. Trump

As most of us know by now, the twice impeached, once indicted, and found in another court to be liable for sexual assault and defamation, former president, is again, criminally indicted for his actions. To me, the indictment announced by Trump on Thursday and unsealed to the public by the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday is the most egregious and damning offense of his to date. (Read an annotated transcript here.) One could hardly believe that a former Commander-in-Chief of the United States military would put our entire national security at risk. And for what? We do not know at this point whether it was his ego, for money, for childlike reasons (“mine!”) or for all of that. The acronym to understand people’s motivation for espionage is MICE (money, ideology, compromise, ego) and any given spy might be motivated by one or more of those reasons. We may never know Trump’s motivation, but it is a serious blow to our country’s security. We can likely guess the motivation for the other person named in the indictment Mr. Walt Nauta, as he is described as totally loyal to Trump and did much of the actual movement of the material at Trump’s direction. Then he lied about it to the FBI and a grand jury.

The indictment is thorough. It also is based primarily on information from those close to Trump, not FBI interviews or surveillance or other surreptitious means. It is based on information such as notes, photographs and text messages between and from his former attorneys, staffers and others. Apparently, all one had to do was walk around Trump’s club at Mar-a-Lago to view classified documents because the material was variously kept on a stage in the ballroom, in a bathroom, in Trump’s bedroom, easy access storage areas and at least some of it was taken to Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey. The audacity of his actions are only matched by the callous and criminal exposure of our nation’s secrets. He literally put people’s lives in danger for his own personal purposes. Hundreds of events took place in his clubs where the information was kept and literally thousands of people attended those events. It will be nearly impossible to assess who had access to the material and whether or not any of it was copied or photographed or stolen. Or sold. Or given away.

Read the indictment. It is an easy read, straightforward and mostly free of obscure legalese. It is startling in what it contains. There are 37 separate charges against Trump for violating seven federal laws. Mr. Nauta faces six charges, mostly for conspiracy to obstruct justice with Trump, concealing evidence and false official statements. 31 of Trump’s charges are individual charges for keeping national security documents he as was not authorized to have. Reliable sources suggest that there were far more classified documents in Trump’s possession, probably over one hundred, but they may be too sensitive to use as evidence in a trial because of their content.

This is no administrative error or careless paperwork. The indictment makes clear that Trump knew exactly what he was doing and that he carelessly disregarded the impact of his actions. To which I might add, as per usual. If one takes the time to read and think about what is happening, Trump’s actions have no relevance or comparison to similar discoveries of classified documents in former Vice President Mike Pence’s or President Joe Biden’s homes and offices. Much will be made of the fact that Mr. Pence’s investigation ended without action and no one has brought charges against Mr. Biden. When their papers were discovered they took immediate action to cooperate fully with the relevant agencies and voluntarily opened their homes and offices to thorough and complete searches. Trump ignored subpoenas, hid documents from court ordered searches and openly showed them to people with no need-to-know or security clearances. They most definitely are not the same. To say so is to try and hide Trump’s criminal behavior. And please! Give Hillary Clinton a rest. There is simply no comparison even as die hard MAGA supporters try to obfuscate what Trump did. That said, we should be very clear that this is only an indictment. He will have a chance in court to defend himself and the prosecution must convince a jury of his peers — ordinary Floridians doing their duty — that he is guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt. No guaranteed thing.

This is a big deal. It is also a very sad deal. I take no pleasure in his indictment, although I do believe it is fully justified and necessary. It is sad on the first level because we should not have to worry about a president of these United States carelessly or deliberately exposing state secrets for his own purposes. It is also sad because the consequences of this necessary indictment are unknown. Trump is now the first and second former president to be indicted on criminal charges (his sexual assault case was in a civil trial that resulted in him having to pay monetary damages, not a criminal trial), We have never experienced this in our history and have no idea how it will play out. It could be quite damaging to our country as for nearly the past eight years we have had to deal with this man who is interested only in his own aggrandizement, greed and power. I fear that given a chance, he will take the whole country down with him should he be found guilty on these or other charges sure to follow later this summer in Georgia for violating election laws (“I just want to find 11,780 votes”) and for violating federal laws in conjunction with efforts to overthrow the 2020 election.

I am saddest of all about the reaction from most Republican elected officials including the Speaker of the House, Congress men and women, Senators, governors and on and on and on. Some of these elected officials are openly or implicitly advocating for violence against the agents, prosecutors, and judges that are trying to uphold our laws. In fact, Trump himself posted a picture of Jack Smith, the special prosecutor in this case, and disparaged his wife and family in a temper tantrum that doubled as a thinly veiled hint to his cult members to take action against him and his family. Some statesman. Here is the hidden kicker. Nothing in our laws or Constitution preclude an indicted individual from running for office. He could even run if he is convicted. He can run while in jail. A convicted felon in jail can be elected president. Only impeachment precludes someone from serving as president.

Some politicians incorrectly accuse President Biden of directing the indictment. Really?! Are they that ignorant or are they deliberately trying to destroy faith in our judicial system? Mr. Biden had no say in the matter. The indictments were handed down by a group of American citizens formed into a grand jury. The special prosecutor presented evidence to them as to the alleged crimes committed and they independently voted to indict. It is America at work. It’s how we roll. If the majority of elected officials in one of the two political parties of the United States are willing to put their allegiance to a cult leader over their stated oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States then they are showing us who they are as people. Check their integrity dip stick and you will find that they are running on empty.

I am saddened but not surprised by Trump’s indictment. It is deserved. The process will play out. The indictment likely contains only the tip of the iceberg as to all of the evidence that will be presented at trial, but what is in it, is damning. Yet, the jury gets to decide if Trump is guilty and his attorneys can present evidence in his defense. It is our judicial system at work. Open and there for all to see. Nothing nefarious. I wish we as a nation did not have to go through this but Trump brought all of this crashing down on his own head. All he had to do was comply with the rules. He chose not to do so. And then he lied about it. Then he tried to cover it up. Now he is being held accountable. Sad but fair.

I am flabbergasted by the majority of Republican officials who continue to try and make him the victim of some evil conspiracy and in retaliation want to defund the FBI and the DOJ. Defund law enforcement! So much for the patriotic party of law and order. That group is gone. I am ever more incredulous as they claim that this is an attempt to interfere with the 2024 presidential election. They shout from the rooftops that he is a declared candidate and therefore should not and cannot be indicted. How is that a thing? He is not the Republican nominee, he is a candidate running for office. While I admit that the timing could get tricky, one would have to be nuts to follow their logic. As president he could not be prosecuted. Now that he is a self-declared candidate he cannot be prosecuted either? That means any person could declare themselves a candidate, raise a little money, give a few speeches and say that they cannot be prosecuted because they are running for president. Right now his legal status is the same as any other citizen of our great country. And that’s a good thing.

This indictment is not a political instrument. It is not even about the Presidential Records Act or archival material or any of the other smoke screens floating out there. This case is about our national security. Period.

We are in uncharted waters. In my mind, we need to hold him accountable. Otherwise, future presidents may think that they are immune from the laws of our country. I am holding my breath about how our country reacts. Rabble rousing governors and members of Congress are using this indictment for their own political purposes and in so doing are playing with fire. Many would be happy to see political violence break out. As I have written in this space before, there are some in the Republican Party — and dare I say in what is now the Republican main stream, including Trump — that want to burn it all down in order to rebuild in their own image the country that they want, rather than the one the majority of us deserve.