 |
| thehill.com |
Glenn C. Altschuler is the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies at Cornell University.
This Op-Ed of his appeared on The Hill site August 13, 2023.
Hours
after the release of a grand
jury indictment charging former President Donald Trump with “using
dishonesty, fraud, and deceit to impair, obstruct, and defeat the lawful
federal government function by which the results of the presidential election
are collected, counted, and certified,” the former president’s amen corner
responded with their familiar refrain:
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy denounced the Biden Administration’s
“distraction from the news” and “two-tiered system of justice.” “When you drain
the swamp, the swamp fights back,” declared Rep. Jim Jordan. “President Trump
did nothing wrong.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis promised, if elected president,
to end “the politicization of the rule of law” and “the weaponization of the
federal government.”
DeSantis admitted he had not read the indictment.
That
said, every American should read the 45 pages of the DOJ indictment. A primer
on American law, the U.S. Constitution, and the Electoral College, the document
presents detailed, credible and compelling evidence about the attempt by
President Trump and six co-conspirators to overturn a free and fair election.
Equally important, the indictment gives Americans an opportunity to judge for
themselves whether or not prosecuting the former president is evidence of a
witch hunt, two-tiered system of justice, or weaponized federal government.
To
whet appetites, and hopefully entice everyone to read it for themselves, here’s
a brief summary:
The
indictment clearly states that President Trump “had a right, like every
American, to speak publicly about the election, and even claim, falsely, that
there had been fraud during the election and he had won.” Yes, he has a right
to that free – eventhough false – speech.
So then let’s be clear, the DOJ
indictment regards charges against him related to conduct — his unlawful
attempt to disenfranchise legal voters and subvert election results — and not
Trump’s First Amendment right to free speech.
The
indictment demonstrates that Republican state legislators, election
officials, and members of the Trump Administration repeatedly and unequivocally
told the president he had lost the election and that they tried repeatedly to
systematically debunk specific claims being generated on social media about
widespread fraud.
A
partial list of those who tried includes the Speaker of the House in Arizona;
the Speaker of the House and Senate Majority Leader in Michigan; the
Philadelphia City Commissioner; the Secretary of State in Georgia; leaders of
the Department of Justice, including the Attorney General, Acting Attorney
General and Assistant Attorney General; the Director of National Intelligence;
the Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; White
House attorneys; and senior staff on Trump’s reelection campaign.
Yet
Trump and his close circle of devotees within the White House refused to accept
the facts.
Virtually
all claims of fraud, moreover, were dismissed or rejected in no fewer than
sixty court proceedings, including more than a few presided over by judges
who had been appointed by Trump himself.
Nonetheless,
Trump continued to insist that voting machines in several states had been
programmed to switch votes to Biden; 149,772 illegal votes were dumped in
“corrupt” Detroit, Michigan; 10,000 out-of-state and dead individuals voted in
Georgia; 30,000 non-citizens voted in Arizona; tens of thousands double-voted
in Nevada; 205,000 more votes were recorded in Pennsylvania than the number of
registered voters in the state.
These
false claims provided the justification for a multifaceted campaign, directed
by the president and in violation of multiple federal statutes, to overturn the
2020 election. Trump and his co-conspirators pressured state legislators and
election officials to delay or reject certification of the results reported by
Democratic counties and to find more Trump votes. The president directed Acting
Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosento send a letter to officials in battleground
states indicating that the DOJ had identified “significant concerns” (later
changed to “significant irregularities”) that may have affected the outcome.
When Rosen demurred, Trump said, “Just say that the election was corrupt and
leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.” And the president made
plans to replace Rosen with a more pliable Acting Attorney General.
The
plotters also attempted to supplant legitimate delegates to the Electoral
College from battleground states with fraudulent slates of electors. Originally
designed to be used only if litigation was successful, the scheme went forward
even though the vote count had been certified by the appropriate officials and
court challenges had failed. This scheme gave Trump’s allies in Congress a
pretext to propose sending the allegedly disputed results back to the states on
January 6. Trump also pressed Vice President Mike Pence again and again,
privately and in public, to reject Electoral College votes for Biden. When
Pence maintained he had no authority to do that, Trump replied, “You’re too
honest.” Denounced by the president for failing to “do the right thing,” Pence
narrowly escaped a mob determined to hang him on January 6, 2021.
The
allegations against Trump involve an indispensable feature of American
democracy, the peaceful transfer of power from one president to another. The
allegations are serious and sobering. If they are true, Donald Trump’s conduct,
at the very least, renders him unfit to serve as president.
But don’t take my word for it. Or the word of willfully
uninformed Trump apologists in Congress, on cable TV, talk radio, and social
media. Take an hour or two, read the 45-page indictment, and draw your own
conclusions. The country you save may be your own.
Enjoy looking through my Library
Terry’s “Good Living” Guide:
Avoid the 3 PsBsSs
Processed Foods, Phthalates, Plastics;
Beef, Butter, Breads;
you’ll be feeling better in no time!
Avoid the 3 F’s
misinformation, fear, anger and hate!
No comments:
Post a Comment