Prosecute Trump
Donald Trump is on tape trying to strong-arm Georgia's Secretary of State into changing the presidential election results. That's a crime. And Trump should be prosecuted.
“I would like you to do us a favor though.” - Donald Trump to Ukrainian President Zelenskiy on July 25, 2019.
I just heard a CNN correspondent say — while discussing the bombshell new recording of Donald Trump trying to force Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, to help Trump get the presidency by changing the already-certified vote count in that state — that Trump likely won’t be prosecuted because the country is so divided.
The country is so divided because Donald Trump keeps committing crimes with impunity.
If Trump isn’t held accountable for his crimes, including this latest attempt at what appears to be extortion in the commission of a second crime, voter fraud — Trump, who oversees the chief law enforcement officer in the country, dangled the threat of criminal action over Secretary of State Raffensperger, in the same phone call in which Trump told Raffensperger, “I just want to find 11,780 votes” — how long until a future candidate (even Trump himself, if he runs again) succeeds at stealing a presidential election because the lesson of the Trump era is that crime does in fact pay?
Another reason to investigate this potential crime is that it likely extends beyond this one phone call. It’s difficult to believe that Raffensperger is the only state official, and Georgia the only state, strong-armed by Trump. In order to win the election, stealing Georgia’s 16 electoral votes wouldn’t be enough. In order to reach the necessary 270 electoral votes from Trump’s actual count of 232, Trump needs an additional 38 electoral votes. Georgia’s 16 would only put Trump at 248, still 22 shy of the presidency. It’s not unreasonable to ask who else Trump called in order to get the other 22 electoral votes he would need. And, did the others agree to Trump’s demand?
(A quick aside. The fact that only yesterday Trump tried to strong-arm Raffensperger to change the officially-certified vote tally means that Trump is actually trying to win. This whole song-and-dance about how the election was stolen isn’t simply some grift permitting Trump to save face while raking in millions in donations from his gullible base. Trump is actually trying to win the election. That goes to motive. And it suggests that there was more to Trump’s plan than just Georgia, as Trump would need more than Georgia to win. So what else did Trump do that we don’t yet know about?)
Then there’s the question of who else assisted Trump in this effort. The Washington Post reports that a number of Trump allies were on yesterday’s call with Raffensperger, including White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and conservative lawyer Cleta Mitchell. There’s also US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who recently told the Georgia Secretary of State to throw out election ballots. As multiple individuals appear involved in this effort to change the official results of the election, a broader investigation is warranted.
Another reason why Trump must be prosecuted — assuming, and only if, DOJ believes it has a case — is that in his final remaining weeks in office, it is increasingly likely that Trump will pardon himself. While many legal observers question the legality of a self-pardon, it’s not settled law. Were Trump to pardon himself, for this or other crimes, he would be establishing a dangerous precedent for future presidents and presidencies. The Biden Department of Justice would have no choice but to indict Trump — were such an indictment otherwise merited — in order to challenge the validity of a self-pardon.
And the final reason Trump should be prosecuted: Are we a nation of laws or not?