An Indictment
Yesterday, a grand jury in Manhattan returned an indictment against former President Donald Trump. The news was initially revealed by a Trump attorney. The district attorney there later issued a statement indicating that there were discussions about how Trump would surrender to authorities, as opposed to the need for being taken into custody.
No matter how you feel about Trump—love him or despise him, and these days, there are few people in between…and no matter your political affiliation…this was not cause for celebration.
That’s because if a former U.S. president has committed illegal activity, it’s a sad day for the country. It’s reported that 74 million Americans cast a vote for him in the last presidential election, and criminal activity of any kind by someone that many people supported and looked up to could turn many of them off from participating in the political process in the future.
It’s also not a cause for celebration because if this indictment is as baseless as many analysts on both sides of the political spectrum say, it’s a sad day for the country for another reason…it means that the rule of law, the foundational principle of this republic, has been subverted to settle a political score or interfere with an upcoming presidential campaign.
Very few facts are actually known. There has been an indictment, but it has been sealed as per custom and the charges are not known publicly. We don’t really know what evidence is out there, only what has been leaked from supposedly confidential grand jury proceedings. So determining that it is either an air-tight, or baseless, case is premature.
But all the social media posts and videos notwithstanding, this indictment is not a cause for celebration. And shame on those—on both sides of the political spectrum—who greeted the news with a smile. If he’s guilty, it’s sad…and if he was railroaded, it’s not only sad but also a sobering reflection of how broken the system is.
