Very
timely subject from PolitiFact: But first this well-known statement in
our judicial jargon: “No one is above the law.” Well, it seems perhaps one:
Donald J. Trump thinks he is.
This short introduction from CREW: Trump has been credibly
accused of committing at least 48 criminal offenses while he was campaigning for
office, while serving in office, and still today out of office. Those offenses
are listed in the table of the CREW link above which include possible offenses
that were investigated by the DOJ while he was in office as well as possible
offenses that have not been the subject of any confirmed investigation.
While he was in office, Trump
was protected by the DOJ’s policy
of not indicting a sitting president, but that policy of course does not
apply to a former president. The crimes also do not include ones being investigated
by authorities in New York State and in New York City relating to the Trump
Organization. Despite Trump’s staggering record of likely criminal
misconduct as president and candidate for that office, he has not been charged
with a single criminal offense.
While adherence to the
rule of law requires that prosecutors pursue criminal indictments only where
the facts, law, and principles of prosecution support such action, it is also
critical that no individual be insulated from accountability simply because
they are a national political figure, a former president or a candidate for
public office. Choosing not to pursue accountability for fear of the political
criticism or consequences is in and of itself a political act.
Federal law says: “It’s a crime to willfully and intentionally remove official records and such a crime would disqualify defendant from holding any office under the United States.”
Some legal scholars say that statute can’t stop a Trump 2024 run. The Constitution’s only standard to run for president is: 35 years old; be a natural citizen; and 14-years residency. No mention of having any criminal convictions.
Whether Trump is ultimately charged by prosecutors is a
matter of speculation. Trump is the subject of multiple investigations (refer
to the CREW article list), including his efforts to remain in office despite
losing in 2020, and his role in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol
designed to keep him in office via coup or insurrection (take your pick).
FYI: The Constitution doesn’t bar criminals from running for president,
for example: Lyndon LaRouche, convicted in 1988 of tax and mail fraud conspiracy, ran for president
multiple times between 1976 and 2004.
Eugene Debs, convicted of violating the Espionage Act of 1917 for an anti-war
speech, was in a federal prison when he ran for president as a socialist in
1920. Debs’ supporters handed out campaign buttons for him as “Prisoner
9653.”)
Federal statute 18
U.S. Code 2071 had long banned the removal, concealment or destruction of
presidential records. It says in part: “Willfully and unlawfully removing such records
can result in a penalty of up to three years in prison and that the defendant shall
forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United
States.”
Lawyers who litigate election law cases highlight disqualification
and say: “The media is missing the really, really big reason why the raid today
is a potential blockbuster in American politics. There would undoubtedly be a constitutional
challenge to the application of this law to a president. One can speculate how
it would turn out, but it is unprecedented and would be fully litigated.”
Rick Hasen, an election law expert at UCLA said he doesn’t see a conviction for violating 18 U.S. Code 2071 preventing Trump from running for office, adding at his election law blog: “That statute cannot trump the Constitution, which sets the exclusive qualifications for President. So this is not a path to making Trump legally ineligible to run for office.”
There are
other ways that Trump could be disqualified from running as Hasen also writes: “Congress
could act to bar Trump from running again under Section
3 of the 14th Amendment, which says that public officials cannot serve in
any future federal, state, or military office if they engaged in insurrection
or rebellion.”
Note: The Senate didn’t pursue that route when the House
impeached Trump; they could have banned Trump from running again during
impeachment proceedings, but they did not.
Also, it’s still unknown how the January 6 committee
investigating Trump’s actions could address the prospect of Trump’s candidacy
via the DOJ and any possible criminal indictment. However, the timing of any
potential criminal charges against Trump is unclear, Federal prosecutors
sometimes avoid pursuing charges close to an election to avoid accusations that
their actions were intended to help or harm a candidate or party.
That’s why it was surprising when FBI director James Comey during the final days of the 2016 campaign told lawmakers about new emails potentially relevant to the investigation of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton that surely doomed her chances against Trump and after the long original investigation had cleared her).
My 2 Cents: The ultimate bottom line from the above articles which
I believe would destroy the nation is based on this statement:
Fact: “Deterrence is one of the core objectives of criminal law.
Federal criminal law is designed to punish individuals for criminal offenses to
discourage these individuals and others like them from engaging in the same
conduct in the future.”
“If Trump avoids criminal prosecution for all his potential offenses
because prosecutors are unwilling to pursue legally justified cases against
him, the message to him and future presidents will be clear: You can
commit crimes with impunity.”
The info above is clear
and sadly much is still unsettled law, or precedence and also sadly appears to fit
only one person: Donald J. Trump.
That in my view and wager
in the view of many others is the most-harmful. If he skates justice, it would
to a great extent kill democracy as we know it without any ifs, ands, or buts. Who
wants that result – other than Trump himself that is?
Trump is a very skilled, talented, and highly-experienced con man who also is a horrible and pitiful human being.
True, also, he is well liked by millions but that shows his skill and not in the art of the deal as his book says, but rather in the “Art of the Con” in dealing with the public and particularly his base.
Make no mistake about the fact that Trump truly is a “clear and present danger” and that is based on the facts not
any political hype or any one-sided view or opinion – that is for anyone with a
clear and open mind.
Never in American political or presidential history have we seen or had any person like Trump in our collective face. I strongly believe that we all must work hard to ensure that he never happens again sets foot in the Oval Office and that is by not allowing him to ever run for the office ever again.
Thanks for stopping by.
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