The Indictment of Donald Trump

March 31st, 2023

March 30th, 2023 may go down in infamy. This could be the day that Pandora’s box was opened, with former President Donald Trump indicted by New York. I’ve made no secret about my distain for the former president, despite my conservative roots, but this legal case is complete and utter foolishness. It stinks of a political witch hunt, partisan motivation, and selfish ambition.

Much of Mr. Trump’s litany of legal issues are self-inflicted, yet his base either doesn’t care, or more likely, refuses to believe the legitimacy of them. Mr. Trump effectively energizes his supporters, and by extension Republicans, by disparaging the left and accusing them of a political witch hunt. In the past, I’ve tended to disagree, as many of the charges were warranted, and on top of that were often handed down from Republican-appointed judges. However, in this case, and dare I say it, I’m in total agreement with Mr. Trump. If you’re going to indict a former president, the charges must be so serious that justice is unavoidable.

The charges of paying hush money to a former porn star, potentially with campaign finances, is not such a charge. You’re using the whole power of the Manhattan prosecutor’s office for this, when there’s actual crime that continues to rise, forcing hundreds of thousands to leave New York? This begs the question – why haven’t federal / state prosecutors charged Mr. Trump for his more serious offenses, such as Mar-a-Lago FBI raid, to attempting to blackmail Ukraine (see John Bolton’s book), and worst of all, January 6th? All of these (and maybe more) were more serious crimes with much greater consequences.

Down the line, the indictment could lead to ever increasing partisan division. Whichever party in power every two years will ceaselessly go after the opposing party’s leader(s), increasing the already prevalent tribal nature of congress. This is similar to what eliminating the Senate filibuster would do – as I have previously written. Democrats already destroyed the judicial filibuster back in 2013, with then Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-TN) warning this would lead to increased division. In the same way, with a progressive DA leading this investigation and doing this unprecedented thing, democrats have once again gone nuclear with complete disregard for the potential long-term ramifications.

The immediate consequences are quite obvious. The arrest of Donald Trump will most definitely incite his base. I hope it’s to mobilize to vote and peacefully protest, rather than mobilize to destroy. This will only help him win the Republican nomination later in 2024. Is this why Alvin Bragg and Democrats are so keen to arrest him? Mr. Trump has proven to be a liability for Republicans in general elections, and Biden’s only shot to win a second term is to face him.