In the 1950s, theft of government secrets, especially those related to our nuclear arsenal, was a crime punishable by death. In the mid-20th century, the Espionage Act was taken seriously.
It was so serious that, to this day, many legal experts and historians question part of the eventual verdict. Many investigators continue to doubt the guilt of Ethel Rosenberg. She was, by witness accounts, “fried” in the electric chair in 1953. Another part of the controversy is related to the prosecutor’s name, Roy Cohn.
Donald Trump was caught lying to the FBI and Congress. He claimed that he had returned all classified documents he stole from the White House on Jan. 20, 2021. The Justice Department confirms that at least 180 extremely sensitive documents remained in his possession, some hidden in the pages of magazines. Unlike Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, he remains a free man.
It is the consensus of opinion today that Trump will be indicted for his crimes. The only question is if this will happen immediately or if the DOJ will play politics and wait until after the midterm elections.
The first question asked by many Americans will be, “can a convicted felon run for office?” Most legal experts agree that with the exceptions of sedition and treason, there is nothing in the Constitution to prevent a criminal from running for the presidency or any other office. Do you think that our judicial system is a “f**king mess?” All convicted criminals are marked for life and lose some of their Constitutional rights.
How in the hell can our country allow a lifelong criminal, who finally committed a crime he cannot escape from, to seek our nation’s highest office? The rule of law no longer exists if you are rich, powerful, or have a political following. Republican voters have elected other known criminals in the past. What does this say about one-half of our nation’s people?
The only hope for America is that the orange buffoon will be convicted on several counts of violating the Espionage Act, and Trump will remain in an orange jumpsuit until 2030, when he will be too mentally and physically damaged to run for any office.
Unlike many of Trump’s “friends” who were convicted of felonies and pardoned by your fake president, he has no chance of receiving a pardon from Mr. Biden, a real president.
I would guess that of the thousands of articles I have written, ten percent of them refer in some way to our nation’s need for justice reform. Law enforcement can no longer be trusted. They think they live in the “old west” when the local sheriff would “shoot first and ask questions later.”
The court system has proven that justice is not blind, and her scales are not balanced. Low-income and impoverished Americans, especially minorities, are likely to receive the maximum punishment if they receive a fair trial. The rich and powerful are most likely to receive a “slap on the wrists” for committing the same or similar crimes. And if you are one of the 545 men and women who run our government, you are either above the law or have in your possession a” get out of jail free” card.
We will see what happens in the next month or two. The only thing I know without a single doubt is that Trump is a serial criminal, and it is way past the time that he was punished.
By James Turnage, Novelist
Sources:
Daily Beast: It’s Over: Trump Will Be Indicted; by Brad Moss
Poynter: Can Donald Trump run for president if charged and convicted of removing official records? By Amy Sherman
Lawfare: The Week That Was: All of Lawfare in One Post; by Benjamin Pollard
Featured and Top Courtesy of Gage Skidmore’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License
Inset Image by US National Archives Courtesy of Picryl – Public Domain License
