Donald Trump’s reaction to his arraignment on four federal counts of conspiracy and obstruction was true to form. Not 24 hours passed before he issued a threat on Truth Social: “IF YOU GO AFTER ME, I’M COMING AFTER YOU.” The government promptly sought a Protective Order to keep him from endangering witnesses and court officials.
Our sociopathic former president thinks he is above the law. That proposition now faces its greatest test. However it may turn out, Trump and his allies are not going quietly.
John Eastman, AKA Co-Conspirator 2, gave an interview in which he reiterated his support for insurrection. Jeffrey Clark, AKA Co-Conspirator 4, talks as if installing a failed candidate as a dictator is what the Insurrection Act is for. Trump die-hard Alan Dershowitz went so far as to say that the prosecutor himself could be indicted.
Sen. Tim Scott wrote on August 1, “I remain concerned about the weaponization of Biden’s DOJ and its immense power used against political opponents. What we see today are two different tracks of justice. One for political opponents and another for the son of the current president.” Does he think he can win the Republican nomination by stooping to such desperate nonsense?
Trump was not arrested by Joe Biden. The special counsel is an independent career prosecutor. The charges were handed down by a grand jury. Trump’s indictment for trying to remain in office after losing the election in 2020 is essential to restoring stability to our republic.
Some Trump supporters think that if he is jailed for violating his terms of release, it will make him such a martyr that he will win the election in a landslide. I think that is just another excuse for remaining hostage to a would-be tyrant’s mob. If we are doomed whether we defend constitutional government or not, we might as well stand up for what we believe. As Edward R. Murrow said, we are not descended from fearful people.
Life is not something we can put off until we are ready. We must live it now. For several days, I have been staring at a beautiful photo of Brooklyn dancer O’Shae Sibley, who was murdered recently for voguing at a gas station. The GOP’s culture-war politics is treated as a mere free speech issue while its practitioners deny any connection between the toxicity they sow and senseless hate crimes that rob us of so many who bring us light and joy.
We who still have our voices cannot be silent in the face of viral intolerance and cruelty from which the GOP refuses to break because the poison promises power.
Every generation faces its tests. Two citizens for whom I am grateful are Special Counsel Jack Smith and U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan, the trial judge in the Jan. 6 case. Smith previously served as chief prosecutor for the special court at The Hague. Chutkan, born in Jamaica, was confirmed by the Senate 95-0. These two jurists are not fooling around, and will not be intimidated nor deterred by insults and threats.
There was a congressional hearing recently on possible extraterrestrial visitors. The fact is that other worlds are very far away from us. The real threat is much closer to home. The divorce from reality of so many MAGA minions prompts some to accuse them of living on Earth 2. They are the ones we Earth 1 denizens must defeat, or perhaps just awaken.
Trump’s lies and projection have helped him dodge consequences for a long time. Then again, considering his failure to turn out large crowds at his arraignments, and the prosecution of 2,000 insurrectionists, it appears to be dawning on many of his supporters that they cannot depend on their Glorious Leader for help.
Trump is his own superhero on social media and at his rallies. He sells cards of his photoshopped alter egos as collector’s items. (This is why I cannot begrudge Mike Pence for selling “Too Honest” T-shirts.) Back on Earth 1, 45 reverts to his true flab.
Justice and political sanity, however, are not self-implementing. Trump and his allies are planning a program of retribution upon his return to office that would gut DOJ and fill it with his own henchmen. It is up to us to thwart them and vindicate the rule of law. We have a right to be here.
When the breakup (or wake up) will finally occur is anyone’s guess. In the meantime, let the wheels of justice turn.
Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist at [email protected].