When Donald Trump was indicted for giving hush money to a porn star, I admit I pretty much rolled my eyes. Today’s indictment of the former President on charges related to the Espionage Act is an entirely different kind of development. A 31 count indictment is very serious, and all Americans – regardless of our political affiliation – should be rooting for a fair and impartial trial. Trump and his lawyers have the right to defend his case in court, and all of us have the responsibility to honor the basic pillars of our justice system. No person is above the law, and all are innocent until proven guilty. Both apply to the former president, as they apply to every American.
Already the swords have come out, of course. Many of Trump’s defenders are claiming that the “Biden DOJ” is simply out to get the former president, yet the case was assigned a special prosecutor with no allegiance to the Democrats. Jack Smith is a registered Independent and is certainly not working at the behest of the Biden Administration. Such charges against him are false, and those who are making them know that. The goal of the system is to be an impartial witness to the facts, and I have no doubt that those involved in the indictment have done their best to achieve that. A grand jury made the decision to indict.
America’s justice system is flawed, to be sure, yet at its best it is brilliant. And its brilliance lies in its impartiality; it is to every American’s benefit that Mr. Trump receive equal justice before the law. What’s important now is that all of us take off any partisan lenses that might blind us to an objective analysis of this situation. At a time like this, our dedication must be to justice itself.
