Donald Trump tried to subvert democracy. He may finally face justice. | Editorial

Donald Trump’s litany of lies is finally catching up with him as he continues to rewrite the history books in ways that are both breathtaking and sad. But will it matter if Trump manages to lie his way back to the White House and outrun the rule of law?

With a third indictment in four months, the twice-impeached Trump became the first president accused of crimes before, during, and after his term in office. The latest indictment focuses on Trump’s brazen efforts to steal the 2020 election that culminated in the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The four-count indictment accuses Trump of three separate conspiracies, including efforts to obstruct the certification of the Electoral College vote and deprive people of a civil right to have their votes counted.

Americans fought and died for the fundamental right to vote that Trump tried to trample. By contrast, some Trump supporters died and went to prison because he couldn’t admit he lost.

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The indictment details how Trump and six unindicted coconspirators pressed a variety of bogus claims to try to overturn Joe Biden’s election from the moment the voting ended. Those efforts were “fueled by lies,” Jack Smith, the independent special counsel overseeing the federal investigation of Trump’s actions, told reporters Tuesday after the charges were unsealed.

Pennsylvania and Philadelphia play a key role in the indictment, as Trump and his coconspirators pressured local, state, and federal officials to change the vote count.

The 45-page indictment reads like a shorter version of the House select committee’s compelling investigation of the Jan. 6 attack. It makes clear, in stark terms, how close American democracy came to being overturned by a sitting president.

The peaceful transfer of power is the bedrock of our democracy. Yet Trump and his allies continue to treat the attack on our electoral system as a political game.

Right on cue, after the indictment was released, Trump and his allies took to Fox News and social media to claim the former president had a First Amendment right to challenge the election. This is a bogus claim that may sway MAGA supporters in the court of public opinion but will not work in a federal courtroom.

In fact, the indictment agrees that Trump had a right to talk about the election, challenge the outcome, and even claim — falsely — there was voter fraud. But the indictment lays out Trump’s unlawful attempts to subvert the election results.

In short, it was not what Trump said but what he did that broke the law. But that will not stop the former president and his allies from claiming he is being persecuted for free speech. So get ready to hear lots more blather from the Trump camp about the First Amendment as he continues to cry about hoaxes, witch hunts, and election interference.

Trump’s sustained attack on American democracy remains a clanging alarm — yet many do not grasp or believe the stakes. The country is in uncharted territory as Trump’s legal woes mount while he remains the GOP front-runner for president in 2024. A fourth indictment is expected in the coming weeks in Georgia, where Trump pressured election officials to find him more votes.

That means Trump could be in several courtrooms and campaigning next year as the law and politics move down parallel paths. Trump’s bid to retake the White House is really an effort to stay out of the big house.

If elected, he has made clear he could either pardon himself or appoint a lackey to head the U.S. Justice Department who would drop the two federal indictments he now faces. However, Trump will not be able to evade his day in court for the state charges in New York and likely coming in Georgia.

It is unclear if the rule of law will move fast enough to end Trump’s lawlessness.

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In the end, it will be up to voters to stop the madness in 2024 as they did in 2020. Amazingly, after all of Trump’s lies, corruption, and alleged crimes, he remains tied with Biden in a recent poll. Sadly, many Republican voters continue to believe Trump did no wrong.

With politics and the law colliding, it is important for the federal trials to be completed before the election. Just as important, those trials should be broadcast on TV so the American public can see and hear the facts.

In the meantime, every citizen should read the recent indictment. It makes clear Trump lost the election — full stop.

It also makes clear how determined Trump was to stay in power by repeatedly lying about mass voter fraud — even after being told over and over that he lost by officials in his own administration, including Justice Department leaders, the director of national intelligence, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, senior White House attorneys, senior election staffers, state legislators who voted for him, and state and federal courts that rejected more than 60 lawsuits claiming election fraud.

The indictment details an extraordinary moment when Trump called then-Vice President Mike Pence on New Year’s Day and berated him for not agreeing to reject the looming vote certification. When Pence said he had no constitutional authority to do so, Trump said, “You’re too honest.”

The real problem is Trump is too dishonest.