We got some hope yesterday. The Justice Department announced that the federal trials of Donald Trump will go forward even if he’s elected. According to The Washington Post (still good for something, apparently), the Justice Department plans to pursue Trump cases past Election Day, “even if he wins”. (Article by Devlin Barrett and Perry Stein.) As reported by MSNBC:
...under the belief that department rules against charging or prosecuting a sitting president would not kick in until Inauguration Day in January…
The Department would continue to prosecute.
So, their rules say they can’t prosecute the President, but that the winner in November doesn’t take office until late January. So, they will continue to prosecute the cases against the wannabe dictator as long as we have a President willing to back them.
That’s something.
It’s not good enough, really. A statement that backed the rule of law would have said that they will continue to pursue these cases until there’s a verdict and all the appeals have run out. That would have been a solid statement.
But, I guess I’ll just drink this weak tea, since that’s what I got.
We (the people of America) should make it abundantly clear, publicly, that we expect all his trials to go to completion, regardless of who wins. That means that the trial must go forward, even if Donald Trump is inaugurated. He’s not allowed to stop the trials. The DOJ is not allowed to withdraw the trials. The courts are not allowed to dismiss the trials. Appeals cannot be dropped before a final judgement. None of that would be legitimate—or legal. Regardless of who is in office.
This is important for two reasons: (1) We need to make sure that justice is served, and (2) We need to demoralize the Republicans.
His guilt or innocence doesn’t depend on winning and election. He wasn’t charged for political reasons. He was charged for legal reasons.
And, if we make it clear a Trump win doesn’t stop the trials, then what’s the point of voting for him anyway? He’s just going to end up in prison, regardless. Any term he gets in office will consist of fighting off legal actions.
We should build on what the DOJ just did. Put a stake in the ground that says, “Here’s where these trials end: with a verdict.”
And, I continue to urge the Department to prosecute the co-conspirators, as I suggested here and here. They have no presidential immunity. They are (allegedly) just as guilty as the main culprit. There’s an enormous public interest in holding them to account.
So, explain to me again, DOJ, why aren’t there cases against the people who furthered the plot to overturn the government, especially the fake electors? This is something that occurred in multiple states, as evidenced by the criminal cases in several states against them. Shouldn’t this be all one federal case?
I want to make a federal case out of it.