Earlier this week America learned that Donald Trump would be the 1st former President to be charged with federal crimes. Of course, on one end of the political spectrum, champagne (or Bud Light) was used to toast the event. On the other end of the spectrum, calls for civil war and the word “weaponization” were used a lot. The rest of America, the majority of the nation, was left to simply look at the facts.
And when one looks at the facts, namely the text of the indictment — the facts couldn’t be more clear.
Yes, everyone, including Donald Trump is entitled to the presumption of innocence going into the trial. But this indictment paints a picture that is hard to ignore. This isn’t a paperwork or any kind of “error.” This isn’t a misunderstanding. The facts are the facts. Put the conviction vs exoneration aside, Donald Trump was up to no good here, even by his own words. One need not be a lawyer to get that.
Just in case someone can’t spare the 30 minutes or so it would take to read the 49 page indictment, here’s a few highlights …
So yes, this isn’t a case of “it was his personal stuff” or anything of the sort. Trump had some of the most precious national defense secrets in his possession.
Not only that, he seemed to love to show them to people …
Keep in mind, these are just some random people where Trump is using these documents to show how powerful and special he is. Imagine all the folks who would not come forward to let the U.S. government know that Trump was sharing these documents with them. People like folks in The Saudi government. Folks in the Russian government. Folks in the North Korean government. Folks in the Turkish government. Folks who work as spies and agents of America’s adversaries. Folks who might be pretending to be just random guests at his golf resort.
And how did Trump himself feel about such things? Well, the indictment shows some of that as well as it welcomes everyone to get into the “wayback machine” to be reminded …
That was candidate Trump. President Trump felt the same way …
Then there’s this …
And all of that is just in the first 17 pages. There is a bunch more. When one sees how haphazard the storage of the documents were, like in a bathroom, in a ballroom, in his office, and all the other unsecure places they were just laying around in, this is not a close call. This has nothing to do with politics.
The rest of the indictment really only makes things worse for the former President. And keep in mind, this isn’t “liberals” or “Democrats” or anyone who is “anti-Trump” putting forth almost all of this evidence, it is his loyalists, supporters, staff, aides, and attorneys.
Dismissing this indictment as just “political” is about as lazy and willfully blind as it can get. It is very real and very serious. And regardless of what happens or doesn’t happen in a trial, these facts are not in dispute. They are clear and as plain as day. No one is pushing back on the facts — because one cannot get anywhere trying push back against a brick wall.
Yes, some will try to make it about political parties, personalities, and every other thing that doesn’t address the facts — that’s politics. This case is about facts.
