To prosecute Trump or not to. Is that really a question? Black, meet white. Doing nothing in the face of evil and injustice is the same as being evil and unjust. It’s just more cowardly. We don’t expect any Republican (other than Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger – both now out of office) to do anything about the evil in the Republican midst. The fact is, prosecuting Trump will invariably lead to prosecuting them! Our problem here is a kind of Stockholm Syndrome amongst criminals. The majority of Americans are NOT Republican yet the Republicans hold us in their thrall. They’ve convinced many of us – the press especially – that their blatant criminal behavior is political behavior! That, to put it politely, is horse shit, and it’s skewed everything perversely. This is NOT about politics! It’s about criminal justice. Therefore prosecuting Trump should NOT be a hard decision!
I just watched a good man – former Democratic Senator from Alabama Doug Jones – represent the serious person’s point of view during an interview on MSNBC. “Whether or not to prosecute the former president,” Jones said, “will be a hard decision” for prosecutor’s in Georgia. Is it? I guess it depends on the lens you use. If you insist on seeing everything through a political lens – Democrats do one thing, Republicans do the other – then, yeah, it might appear as if everything’s political.
That’s the “if you’re a hammer then everything’s a nail” dynamic. Trouble is, not everything is a nail.
Skepticism v Cynicism
For reasons discussed here and here, our news media has confused skepticism (what every journalist should have) with cynicism. Cynicism assumes the worst of people and won’t be dissuaded. That’s white peoples’ cynicism toward everyone else.
The Republican Party has spent generations gaslighting America (starting with trickle down economics). The whole point of the exercise: keep white people in power. The Republican panic began – as the Reagan “Revolution” waned – when it saw America diversifying far faster than it expected. Republicans understood the long term implications: the loss of white hegemony in America.
Enter Trumpism
And, so, they began to gerrymander and voter suppress instead of innovate policy. They could easily have presented conservative paths forward (though I’m not sure such a thing exists – conservatism, by its nature, wants to conserve what was), instead they bet the house on cheating. Donald Trump wasn’t an anomaly in the Republican culture, he was Republicanism’s id jacked up on steroids, bad booze and angel dust.
In fact, the GOP knew even before they formally nominated Trump that he was a Russian intelligence asset. The Republican Party’s leadership said so – out loud. And then they agreed among themselves to keep that terrible secret a secret.
Republican Complicity
Cut to June 25, 2016 – a month before the GOP nominated Trump. Current Speaker Of The House Kevin McCarthy exits a meeting wherein he learns that Vladimir Putin is actively trying to undermine Ukraine’s burgeoning new democracy. McCarthy walks almost immediately into another meeting – with fellow GOP leaders. The first thing McCarthy says upon entering is: “There’s two people I think Putin pays – Rohrbacher and Trump – swear to God!”
The response? Nervous laughter. That’s why McCarthy says “Swear to God!” He wants them all to believe he’s not full of shit. The thing is, they KNOW he’s not! That’s why no one there protests! No one challenges McCarthy or doubts him. And no one says “Yikes, that’s terrible! We better get the FBI on the phone!”
Instead, then Speaker Of The House Paul Ryan asserts what passes for Republican “leadership”. They won’t discuss the subject further, he tells the room – and the room goes along. As Speaker Ryan put it: “that’s how we know we’re family“.
Republican Culture Of Bullying
Why don’t more Americans know this story? Hell, the Washington Post reported it! Considering everything that followed that meeting, doesn’t it deserve additional scrutiny? And if anyone questioned says “Kevin was kidding?” Dig deeper into them. They’re lying. McCarthy can’t kid, he has no sense of humor. Like his mentor Trump, he’s a bully.
Bullies are never so honest as when they’re bullying – and that includes laughing at people.
Donald Trump is a boss bully in a bully culture. That bully culture has convinced us that “prosecuting Trump will be hard”. Why is that? Because Trump isn’t guilty beyond all doubt? FFS – he committed a ton of his crimes out in the open. That doesn’t make them less criminal. It makes us stupid – for not prosecuting what’s in our faces!
The Core Truth
Prosecuting Trump isn’t hard for the majority of Americans. It’s hard for the political and journalistic establishment – the leftover white hegemony. To them, prosecuting Trump is prosecuting one of their own – it’s prosecuting themselves. That’s what’s hard for them!
Juries – Grand Or Otherwise
It’s unusual for anyone to hear what any Grand Jury says – let alone any part of a Grand Jury’s report. Yet the Fulton County Grand Jury insisted on their report getting out. Wanna bet they’re all for prosecuting Trump?
I’ve served on a couple of juries. No Grand Juries but Grand Juries are made of the same stuff: us. In my experience, juries understand their obligation to the law. But they also understand their obligation to decency. And fairness.
The case against Trump in Georgia is beyond slam dunk. How can it not be? We have Trump on tape asking for Georgia’s Secretary of State to cheat on his behalf! And we know from a shitload of witnesses that Trump knew for a fact that he lost.
FFS – why is that even a question? It’s absurd. Worse, it’s obscene.
Trump Is A Career Criminal
If one puts down the political lens for a moment and simply sees the world as it is, Donald Trump has never been a “politician”. He has always been a criminal using politics to achieve a criminal end. That does not convert his criminality into politics.
Same goes for every one of Trump’s Republican co-conspirators.
Sorry, Mr. Jones – you’re a good man but you’re spouting nonsense. It is not hard at all to prosecute Trump. It’s shockingly easy! All we have to do is do it!
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