Sorry Donald Trump, there’s no such thing
Poor Republicans. They want so badly to find something wrong with the DOJ’s indictment that they are reaching back to their catch-all: “But, but, what about her emails?” If this is the best defense they can find for what Trump did, so be it, but it is no defense at all. Perhaps what Hillary Clinton did can be called a lapse in judgment, but it fails to rise to the level of Trump’s theft of hundreds of classified documents. Besides, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner also kept emails on an outside server that was, in fact, their shared personal email server. So much for that argument. They also claim that President Biden and former vice president Pence also had possession of classified documents, but they ignore the differences. They’re just looking for an excuse that is not forthcoming. What is forthcoming is Donald Trump’s arraignment on 37 felony counts.
No comparison to what Trump did exists, no matter how much Republicans try. Both Biden and Pence willingly turned over documents once it was found they possessed them, while Trump’s failure to return documents is at the very heart of the charges against him. Trump willfully withheld those documents, even after several attempts by the government to get them back. There was no willfulness in Clinton’s email issue, nor did she try to obstruct the investigation. She testified for hours, but most Republicans-and especially Donald Trump-get off on pointing fingers instead of accepting blame for their own actions. Now, you have those who are promoting violence, and when that violence occurs, they will deny blame. Denial is what Republicans do best.
Though Trump tries to turn this indictment into a political ploy, it is anything but that. Hopefully, it will get through to Trump’s head that he is not above the law. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do for a living, or anything else. If you break the law, you will be punished. In the case of Donald Trump’s indictment, he, in fact, broke the law. Even Bill Barr said on Fox News Sunday that the indictment contains “very damning” evidence. Jack Smith said it best when he spoke Friday: “We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone.” Meanwhile, staunch Trump allies have spent their time trying to discredit the DOJ, with Jim Jordan claiming that Trump declassified the documents once they reached Mar-a-Lago, which is ridiculous. Trump had no power to declassify anything. What is shameful is that people believe this nonsense, which is why Republicans continue to say things that even they don’t believe. Besides, the prosecutors have Trump on tape, admitting that he had no authority to declassify the documents he took and was brazenly showing to others. Further, as CNN pointed out, the law does not require non-classification for a crime to have been committed.
Either way, Trump did the crime, and he must now answer for it. As Bill Barr said on Sunday, “He’s not a victim here.” No, he’s not; he’s the perpetrator. Excuses are irrelevant.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years