An alleged serial criminal who happens to be a former president, Donald Trump, was just indicted on four felony counts by the United States federal government that he once led. Trump’s charges relate to his alleged attempts to deceive the public and to overturn the results of the 2020 Presidential election. The four counts are: (1) Conspiracy to Defraud the United States, (2) Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding, (3) Obstruction of and Attempts to Obstruct an Official Proceeding and (4) Conspiracy Against Rights. This is the third indictment now for Trump—but almost definitely not the last—following New York’s case relating to a payment made to Stormy Daniels and the federal indictment in the classified documents case.
This indictment is the product of a lengthy fact-finding process led by special prosecutor Jack Smith, which should help confirm what is so important to relay to the American people: that Trump KNEW he had lost and sought to undermine the elections process anyway. This wasn’t just an honest guy who was genuinely concerned about fraud, he was a narcissistic man who refused to publicly admit that he lost and let go of his power. These conspiracies were created because of him and only because of his powerful deception.
A charge that cannot be forgotten in this indictment is the ‘Conspiracy Against Rights’ count. Essentially, he conspired to deny basic voting rights by trying to overturn the will of the American people. This is an incredible allegation against a former President. “Deprivation of rights” sounds like something you would read in a United Nations document against the lack of free and fair elections in a country under authoritarian rule.
But this is not a sad day for America. It is a great day when justice can be served. The endgame is, of course, multiple convictions, but even an indictment for Trump means that he is being held accountable to a notable extent for his disgusting attempts to thwart Democracy.
A key part of this is that federal prosecutors noted that Trump was “determined to remain in power.” This is crucial to understanding Trump’s danger. He is a man who has no respect for the law, no respect for the country, and no moral center. He is willing to do nearly anything for money and power and ego. These indictments are collectively becoming a storm of accountability the likes of which Trump has never faced. He has to be held accountable for his reckless and criminal behavior so that nothing of this magnitude can ever happen again. Which leads us to the Republican race for President. Trump still leads in the polls to become the Republican nominee, by a lot. When will the party have some semblance of dignity? When will they finally dump Trump? And if they won’t, what does that future look like?
(featured image: Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)
