If American democracy is to survive, those who seek to subvert it must be called to account.
On Tuesday, Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith took a momentous — and necessary — step in that direction by announcing charges against former President Donald Trump with three conspiracies in connection with his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election: conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiring against people’s civil rights.
The 45-page, extremely detailed indictment, handed up by a grand jury in Washington, D.C., was an important step in establishing the depth and breadth of Trump’s alleged assault on the rule of law as he sought to stay in power despite a decisive loss to President Joe Biden. Trump stands charged, essentially, with attempting to toss aside America’s long and precious democratic experiment for no reason other than to keep power for himself. No one can overstate the seriousness of these charges.
Despite what the public will undoubtedly hear from many Republicans, it simply isn’t logical that this indictment is a political persecution. Trump’s supporters have repeated that tired calumny over and over. But Smith’s indictment is an extension of the mountains of evidence compiled by the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack, whose hearings and evidence drew a vivid picture of a conspiracy, reaching to the highest levels, to keep Trump in power.
Holding the former president accountable for his actions — and Trump will have his day in court — is essential if the phrase “rule of law” is going to have any meaning.
‘Fueled by lies’
Six unnamed alleged co-conspirators — more than generally expected — were not indicted, which could be a legal tactic to get the case to trial before the November 2024 presidential election. But descriptions of the co-conspirators indicated that among them were Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani; former United States Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Clark; John Eastman, a lawyer who fought to keep Trump in power; Trump lawyer Sidney Powell and lawyer Kenneth Chesebro. Eastman’s lawyer confirmed he is co-conspirator No. 2. The co-conspirators could be charged at a later date.
“The attack on our nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy ... fueled by lies,” Smith said Tuesday in announcing the indictment. Also on Tuesday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland called the probe, “the largest investigation in our history.”
Trump, of course, likely will try to unduly delay the proceedings as defendants often do, but the judge — U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan — cannot allow that. It’s immaterial, in our view, that Trump has proclaimed himself a candidate for office. Not a single Republican primary has been held, not a single vote has been cast for a party candidate. Declaring a run for office should not serve as a “stay out of jail” card. The public has an interest in a speedy trial.
House and Senate Republicans could have stood up for the nation and its historic system of government after Trump was impeached on Jan. 13, 2021, for his role in the insurrection at the Capitol. But many of those timorous lawmakers refused to do so and kept Trump in office.
Since then, more than 1,000 people have been charged in the insurrection, and many have been sentenced to serious prison time. As U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said: “The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president.” To the extent they did, Trump is responsible.
The nation’s first president, George Washington, left office after declining to run for re-election a second time, after serving two terms, in part to set a precedent for the peaceful transfer of power. (The 22nd Amendment, limiting presidents to two terms, was not ratified until 1951.)
Not until Trump came along did any sitting president attempt to upend that tradition of peaceful transfer.
Trump is already facing two other indictments, in New York for allegedly falsifying business records in connection with hush-money payments during the 2016 election; and another federal indictment for withholding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. He is also expected to face indictment in Georgia on charges that he and others tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in that state. Trump faces a number of civil complaints as well.
Before Tuesday’s indictment, Trump said, should it take place, it would be a badge of honor and would be the “biggest disgrace in American history.” But the real disgrace would have been outrageous inaction — letting it slide, with no penalty for attempting to overturn the nation’s long-treasured democracy. If the charges are proved, it will be clear Trump failed to uphold his oath to uphold the Constitution. It is the first time any president has been indicted for trying to steal an election.
Our ideal for the transfer of presidential power should be the examples set by George Washington and every other president before Trump, including John Adams, the first to leave peacefully after losing a bid for re-election.
Not the disgraceful, dangerous and lie-filled example set by Trump.
(Editor’s note: A previous version of this editorial stated that George Washington left office without running for re-election; the statement has been corrected to clarify that Washington declined to run for re-election a second time, after serving two terms. The 22nd Amendment, limiting presidents to two terms in office, was not ratified until 1951.)
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