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Trump.
There, feel free to rush to social media and launch into a screed about whatever you think we are going to write next and why.
Indictment.
Now we’ve got the two words out in one place, doubtless triggering nigh-countless knee-jerk reaction from both sides.
Deep breath, let the system work.
And now you know where we are going. If your mind is made up, you can save time by not reading further and just attacking “the media,” ignoring that local outlets are made up of a diverse group of your neighbors who may attend houses of worship, shop grocery stores, root for sports teams or like the same eateries as you. The similarities among us almost always strongly outnumber the differences, but many politicians and pundits want to keep us focused on differences. Consider shifting some focus to a few similarities; You might find it kind of nice, and see a drop in blood-pressure.
If you got beyond the instant responses, here are our arguments for cooling down, skipping the protests, and putting an unliftable lid on any thoughts that violence would somehow be appropriate.
• Despite the endless speculation for more than two weeks, until the arraignment today only those directly connected to the case knew what the charges were. Assuming the usual release of details post-arraignment, today we know some facts about what Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg alleges was done and presumably some sense of the proof he believes he has. We can stop debating in a vacuum. Every proclamation of the case’s value before the release should be taken with a truckload of salt.
• Despite the relentless denigration of Bragg, a DA does not issue indictments. This is happening because the DA was able to present evidence and make arguments that convinced the majority of a grand jury there is probable cause for an indictment to be issued. There is a very small truth to the idea that a good prosecutor could get a ham sandwich indicted; the grand jury process is skewed toward prosecution to begin with. But claiming this is a “weaponization of justice” or a “political vendetta” grossly misses the mark. This is how our criminal justice system works. The number of people involved and the many steps to conviction or acquittal are designed to make weaponizing and vendettas very difficult, with a multi-level appeals process for fixing any such wrongs.
• The system also works by making sure the criteria for conviction is higher than for indictment, and Trump and his attorneys will have ample opportunity to smash the prosecutor’s case into oblivion if the evidence doesn’t hold up. This is a big part of the “take a breath” advice. Let’s hear both sides thoroughly before we demonize either.
• The dichotomy put forth is a false one: This case may very well be politically motivated. It may also be criminally justified. The two are not mutually exclusive, regardless of how many polls ask it as an either/or question.
• Lastly, to those who feel — as Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis said — that indicting a former president is somehow “un-American,” let’s review a fundamental part of our country’s raison d’être. America emerged in revolt of a monarchy that treated its colonists with gross inequity. For 246 years we have proudly embraced the mantra “no one is above the law.” Indicting a former president is wholly American, as is presuming innocence until proven guilty, and judgment of guilt or innocence by a jury of peers, and the extensive appeal process.
So, please, breath. Read and listen as the court case unfolds. Remember that those who pre-determine Trump’s guilt or innocence everyday on TV, radio or print would, by their very words, be disqualified from sitting on the jury that determines such judgment.
– Times Leader