Pirate's Cove

I had planned on ignoring the supposed Trump indictment, because the charges have not been formally released, it’s all based on leaks (shouldn’t the proceedings of a grand jury be secret?), and we all knew that shady Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg would get his charges. As the saying goes, a grand jury can indict a ham sandwich. Once indicted, Bragg actually has to make the case. This piece by Time perfectly encapsulates what’s wrong with this whole thing

Trump Is About to Stress Test the Credibility of Our Judicial System

For the weeks leading up to Donald Trump’s indictment, the former President was constantly throwing misdirection into the ether. He predicted an indictment and arrest in the coming hours, even as his advisers and lawyers conceded they had no evidence that was in the offing. He raised cash on the threat of the prospect of criminal prosecution and plotted with his team about a potential perp walk. Amid it all, the ex-President seemed to miss the severity of history’s judgment should he become the first of his cohort to face a criminal indictment.

Well, late Thursday, that anticipated outcome finally came into relief. The Manhattan District Attorney’s office confirmed that a grand jury had made history, and that the process of negotiating a surrender and booking for the former White House resident had already begun. In the coming days, as the indictment is unsealed and Trump poses for his mugshot, the misdirection is unlikely to abate. And in that comes a distinct risk, one not confined to the American judicial system, the norms of the Presidency itself, or the basics of civility in a pluralistic political world.

With every single utterance, filing, and grievance, Trump and those involved in this case—and potentially others—stand to rewrite the rules of criminal accountability in a high-charged political environment.

First off, no matter what the Democrats think, people are innocent till proven guilty in a court of law. They have protections. Bragg must prove his case. Defendants can do whatever to protect themselves. Those cheering this targeted political attack via prosecution should remember that they could be next.

As the first criminal charges against an ex-President move forward, the combination of head fakes and the legitimate threat to judicial norms should not be taken lightly.

The stratagem has worked plenty for Trump to this point, and it still may, to be clear. At the same time, these proceedings might finally shake the American public of its reflex to follow Trump’s eyeline when it locks on to something blurry in the distance. After all, it seems an indictment is about to be in plain view, even if a lot of Americans aren’t yet ready to believe their eyes. In fact, Trump and his allies are going to work overtime to ensure that his strongest supporters never get there, even if it further diminishes the credibility of the nation’s courts.

Political norms would preclude a soft on crime prosecutor, who lets felons off light if not off, targeting a specific US citizen, even if a former president, because of politics. It’s interesting that so many of the articles on this focus on Trump and getting Trump, rather than the constitutional protections, both in the federal Bill of Rights and the NY Constitution and how Bragg has broken them. Cheering media and Democrats should remember that they opened this box, and it can immediately turn around and bite them right in the ass.

The Grand Jury has acted upon the facts and the law.

No one is above the law, and everyone has the right to a trial to prove innocence.

Hopefully, the former President will peacefully respect the system, which grants him that right.

— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) March 31, 2023

Someone who spent her life in Congress fails to understand Civics 101.