Trump assaults the rule of law
Faced with James Comey’s testimony, President Trump and his defenders beckon us down a constitutional and moral rabbit hole. His pleas on behalf of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, they tell us, were the vague wishes of a legal naif. The FBI investigation of Trump and Russia is, they say, a witch hunt designed to politicize the law, an assault on his civil liberties.
This is pernicious — and dangerous. The legal system does not unfairly threaten Trump; Trump threatens the rule of law as surely as did Richard Nixon. One cannot vindicate the presumption of innocence by shutting down an inquiry which addresses whether an American president violated his oath to uphold the Constitution by committing criminal acts.
This is not the case of an unconstrained federal government targeting a private citizen or lower officeholder. Trump is the world’s most powerful man; he can direct — or misdirect — the affairs of our country, then use the unique and awesome powers of his office to immunize his actions. The FBI investigation is all that stands between the rule of law and a president seemingly bereft of any belief that his responsibilities transcend himself. To suggest that it be foreshortened abets the blockade of truth which, based on what we know already, he apparently means to perpetrate.
The questions before us are profound:
Did Trump or his campaign barter the power of the presidency in foreign affairs in exchange for Russian help in attaining that power?
Did Trump or his campaign know about Russia’s efforts to influence the election by using e-mails illegally stolen from the DNC and Clinton campaign?
Did Trump or his associates receive Russia’s help in advancing their business interests?
Did Trump, as president, attempt to obstruct an inquiry which would resolve these questions?
As to the first three questions, all we know is that 17 intelligence agencies agree that Russia tampered in our election, and that the FBI is investigating possible collusion by Trump and/or his campaign. But with respect to obstruction of justice, Comey’s testimony — when juxtaposed with Trump’s known conduct — suggests that the president systematically attempted to deny us answers.
At best, the timeline is deeply disturbing: