The Trump Indictment

CAL THOMAS

For release: 06/13/23

The Trump indictment

By Cal Thomas

Tribune Content Agency

In reporting on news of a federal indictment of former president Donald Trump, the UK Daily Mail posted a video of Joe Biden backing his Corvette into the garage which contained boxes of classified documents. But the next day the same publication reported on a leaked audio recording on which Trump allegedly admitted he did not declassify secret documents regarding a military scenario for attacking Iran, which he is said to have taken to his private residence in Florida.

That tape will likely be used by the prosecution in a trial to prove Trump lied about his authority to declassify secret documents after leaving office.

Regardless, the 37-count indictment is bound to increase the anger Trump supporters feel about this administration and their government overall. The indictment and trial of a former president can only divide the country further and ratchet-up the anger many Republicans feel – even Republicans who don’t favor a second term for Trump – about what they regard as a two-tier system of justice.

Many Republicans remain angry about how Hillary Clinton got a pass from then-FBI Director James Comey on her mishandling of classified documents. Comey said she didn’t intend to break the law. Try that excuse with a police officer if you are pulled over for speeding.

Fox News Digital reports a source has told the FBI that while Biden was vice president, he and family members allegedly took a $5 million bribe from the Burisma natural gas firm where son Hunter was on the board in exchange for certain U.S. policy decisions. On Friday, Biden was asked about it and replied “where’s the money?” A look at family bank records might answer that question.

The Hunter Biden investigation by the U.S. attorney in Delaware has been going on for several years with as yet no decision. It took Special Counsel Jack Smith just four months to file charges against Trump. Newsweek reported that Smith’s wife worked on a 2020 film about former first lady Michelle Obama and contributed to Biden’s 2020 campaign.

One of the charges against Trump, reportedly, will be that he violated the Espionage Act of 1917. That law makes it a crime to remove, copy or share national defense information, or to “willfully [retain] national defense information” and “[fail] to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it.” In view of the leaked audio cited above, that one may be easier for the prosecution to prove.

Many things could happen between now and the next election. The charges could be dismissed. If not, a trial might be delayed until the middle of next year’s primaries and possibly the election. Trump could go to trial and be convicted, or acquitted. If convicted, his appeals could take months and the Supreme Court might have to judge the case, which could further raise the ire of anti-Trumpers should the court overturn any conviction. If elected president again, Trump could pardon himself, which would be something else that has never before been attempted and would also likely be decided by the Supreme Court, provoking whichever side is the loser.

Trump has brought many of his legal troubles on himself by his attitude and behavior. Still, his supporters and even some of his Democratic detractors, realize prosecuting a former president could bring serious consequences to the country and future presidents.

The phrase “no one is above the law” has a corollary: no one should be below the law. Equal justice ought to be the goal, not using the Department of Justice as a political weapon to destroy an opponent.

Readers may email Cal Thomas at [email protected]. Look for Cal Thomas’ latest book “A Watchman in the Night: What I’ve Seen Over 50 Years Reporting on America” (HumanixBooks).

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