For Republicans, Donald Trump Can Do No Wrong
The position of Trump's GOP defenders is remarkably clear: the former president is above the law.
I’m Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality. If you were sent this email or are a free subscriber and would like to become a paid subscriber, you can sign up here.
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… Everyone Has One, And They All Stink
Later today, Donald Trump will be formally arraigned in federal court in Miami. Trump has been indicted on 37 counts of putting national security secrets at risk by absconding with classified documents and then conspiring with his aide Walt Nauta to prevent their return to the federal government.
As I wrote on Friday, the evidence of Trump’s guilt is overwhelming.
At the very least, even if he’s acquitted, Trump’s behavior has been undeniably reckless, dangerous to national security, and, considering that he was once president of the United States, utterly indefensible.
But like a parent who can’t bear to punish a mischievous child or a super fan who refuses to entertain the possibility that their beloved, favorite singer has even the slightest personal flaw, Republicans treat Trump as though he can do no wrong … he can only be wronged.
Take the Wall Street Journal editorial board: the organ of establishment conservatism. After criticizing Democrats for pushing the Trump indictment and waving away the former president’s mishandling of classified material, the paper notes that Trump is accused of “failing to turn over the documents or obstructing the attempts by the Justice Department and FBI to obtain them.” The editorial also states that “the feds … say Mr. Trump tried to cover up his classified stash by ‘suggesting that his attorney hide or destroy documents,’ as well as by telling an aide to move boxes to conceal them from his lawyer and the FBI.”
What does the Journal glean from these nuggets of information: “As usual, Mr. Trump is his own worst enemy.”
If you are looking for the part where the Wall Street Journal editorial page concludes that Trump was wrong to obstruct a federal investigation, improperly store classified material, or tell his attorneys to destroy documents sought by the federal government (and lie to them), you’ll be searching for a while. You see, says the WSJ, as they throw their cowboy boots on their desk, lean back in their chair, push a piece of straw around their mouth, and partake in a tumbler of the finest Kentucky bourbon, Donald Trump didn’t break the law … that’s just the way old Donald is.
Sure, he ain’t got no sense, but he loves his mamma and would never hurt anyone.
Sen. Lindsey Graham took a similar position.
President Trump will have his day in court but espionage charges are absolutely ridiculous. Whether you like Trump or not, he did not commit espionage. He did not disseminate, leak or provide information to a foreign power or news organizations to damage this country.
He is not a spy. He is overcharged. Did he do things wrong? Yes, he may have. He will be tried about that. But Hillary Clinton wasn’t.”
In fact, under the Espionage Act, the willful retention of classified material is a crime. Whether it was disseminated or leaked — indeed, the motive or intent itself — is irrelevant. In other words, one doesn’t need to be a spy to violate the Espionage Act. Graham, who graduated from law school and served in the military, takes a similar position to the Journal — it’s just Donald being Donald. And while “he may have” done something wrong … it pales next to the Wicked Witch of the East.
And there we have the key talking point that Republicans continue to trot out — whatabout Hillary Clinton?
According to Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina.
“I’ve had my ups and downs with Donald Trump we have not always seen eye to eye. I just want everyone to be treated by the same legal standards — it feels like Hilary Clinton and Joe Biden are treated in a different standard than Donald Trump and I think most people are going to agree with that … Joe Biden wants to give Donald Trump a death sentence for documents. They want him to die in jail. And yet Hillary Clinton is standing free today,”
None of this is true. Hillary Clinton was investigated for having a private email server and was not charged with a crime (because she didn’t commit one). Joe Biden is currently under investigation for having classified materials in his possession, but unlike Trump, he immediately turned those documents over to the government once they were discovered.
But what is missing from Graham and Mace’s statement — indeed, what is missing from practically every Republican response to the Trump indictment — is the simple and basic acknowledgment that what Trump did was wrong.
None of them can say it. Indeed, by the logic of Mace’as argument, if she wants a criminal justice system in which everyone is treated fairly and equally (more on that in a second), then either Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump all did something wrong — or they all did nothing wrong. If Hillary Clinton shouldn’t be free and she did the same thing Trump is accused of, doesn’t that mean Trump shouldn’t be free either — because, like the former Secretary of State, he too broke the law? Or was Clinton treated unfairly then, like Trump is allegedly mistreated now?
Above The Law
Of course, the answer to that question is disturbingly simple: Republicans believe there is one set of laws for Americans, and there is one set of laws for Donald Trump.
Indeed, on Friday, after word broke that Trump had been indicted, Republicans rushed to his defense — decrying a political witch hunt, calling the indictment a “grave injustice” and chastising the Biden Administration for, in the words of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the “weaponization of federal law enforcement” against the former president. But when they made these statements, none had actually read the indictment.
Let me repeat that point: none of them had actually read the indictment. Why does this matter? It means that none of them knew the specific charges against Trump, and none had seen the evidence amassed against him.
For all we knew, Jack Smith had pictures of Trump handing a folder titled" “Cool Nuclear Stuff That Is Bigly Classified” to Russian President Vladimir Putin (instead, Smith had audio transcripts and direct testimony of Trump admitting his crimes). But by the GOP’s “logic” (and I use that word guardedly), the mere act of prosecuting the president is illegitimate on its face.
Indeed, the position of Trump’s defenders is remarkably clear: no matter Trump’s crime, the evidence, or the ultimate consequences of his behavior … Donald Trump is above the law.
This is, and I don’t use this word lightly, un-American. It goes against the letter and the spirit of our founding ideas — that all citizens are equal under the law; and that the rule of law applies equally to all.
Of course, the rule of law has never been equally applied in America. There are different rules for the rich and powerful and the poor and powerless. But it’s not too often that virtually an entire political party looks at this discrepancy and endorses it on behalf of a single political figure.
In fairness, there have been a handful of Republicans who have done the right thing. Utah Senator Mitt Romney said, “These allegations are serious and, if proven, would be consistent with his other actions offensive to the national interest, such as withholding defensive weapons from Ukraine for political reasons and failing to defend the Capitol from violent attack and insurrection.” Go Mitt!
Arkansas Governor and 2024 presidential hopeful Asa Hutchison called on Trump to drop out of the race and said of the indictment, “This is equal application of the law.” Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska was among the few House Republicans to criticize Trump, calling his actions “inexcusable.”
But this is the exception, not the rule.
Instead, most Republican officials have settled on the position — to paraphrase Richard Nixon — that “When Donald Trump does it, that means it’s not illegal.”
Quite simply, these are not the views of a serious political party. The response to Trump’s indictment is one more piece of evidence that the modern Republican Party is a feckless, anti-democratic, and lawless political institution that has no allegiance to the fundamental principles of American democracy.
One More Thing …
Here’s what Donald Trump, a stable, well-adjusted, and completely normal person, wrote on Truth Social this weekend.
“I WILL APPOINT A REAL SPECIAL ‘PROSECUTOR’ TO GO AFTER THE MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE USA, JOE BIDEN, THE ENTIRE BIDEN CRIME FAMILY, & ALL OTHERS INVOLVED WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF OUR ELECTIONS, BORDERS, & COUNTRY ITSELF!”
Call me crazy, but pledging to appoint a special prosecutor to “go after” any American would not only undermine the rule of law but has the distinct odor of weaponizing the federal government. Oddly, Republicans don’t seem to be bothered by Trump’s statement. Weird, right?
What’s Going On
CNN’s Daniel Dale takes a blowtorch to Donald Trump’s blizzard of lies about his federal indictment.
Interesting piece by Elaina Plott Calabro on the rise and fall of Lara Logan. I can’t say I fully understand how Logan fell off the deep end, but her story makes for a hell of a cautionary tale.
New York Magazine looks at the best TV shows of 2023 so far.
Jonathan Guyer crashed Henry Kissinger’s 100th birthday party.
I joined Pete Dominick to talk about the Donald Trump indictment.
Musical Interlude
Every GOP elected has to be asked, repeatedly, whenever discussing Trump and his alleged, crimes, indictment, arraignment, and, soon, the court case:
"Did you read the indictment?"
Have any been asked this? Not enough have.