Take a breath.
April 1, 2023
After a tumultuous week, we should pause to take a breath. Next week may be equally tumultuous—or not. Trump has agreed to appear voluntarily in New York to be arraigned on Tuesday. It could have been otherwise, although Trump has little practical choice in the matter. He is the defendant in a rape/defamation suit in New York set for trial on April 25th. If Trump fails to appear at that trial, the judge will enter a default judgment against Trump. That would be bad for Trump. Very. Since Trump would be subject to arrest at the E. Jean Carroll trial, his only choice is to surrender voluntarily.
E. Jean Carroll’s defamation trial against Trump in April may help to reduce some of the pressure created by the Manhattan indictment. The defamation trial will give the public another opportunity to hear about Trump's depraved behavior. And the E. Jean Carroll trial will overlap with the Dominion Voting Systems trial against Fox, which will refute the claims of a rigged election and will remind the public that Fox news anchors secretly despise Trump. None of that is helpful to Trump's efforts to portray himself as the victim of a political vendetta by a rogue prosecutor.
The reaction from Republican politicians has been reckless, dangerous, and inexplicable. They seem incapable of quitting Trump despite being given every opportunity to do so. Of all the ignorant statements made in defense of Trump, Ron DeSantis’s statement will go down in history as the most ignorant and dangerous of all.
As noted yesterday, DeSantis issued a statement saying that Florida would not assist in the extradition of Trump to New York. The statement by DeSantis was nothing less than a declaration that he would disobey the Constitution, which provides:
A Person charged in any State with Treason, Felony, or other Crime, who shall flee from Justice, and be found in another State, shall on Demand of the executive Authority of the State from which he fled, be delivered up, to be removed to the State having Jurisdiction of the Crime.
There is no ambiguity in the Constitution’s language—“shall be delivered up.” See Dennis Aftergut, The Bulwark, Five Reasons for DeSantis’s Phony ‘I Won’t Extradite Trump’ Stunt. Thus, the indictment not only threatens Trump but has also contributed to DeSantis’s image as a clueless bumpkin who is out of his depth on the national stage. A win-win.
For those of you who are understandably anxious about how the trial will unfold, the truth is that we had no choice. We had to protect the rule of law—either in Manhattan, DC, or Georgia. Josh Marshall said it well in Talking Points Memo,
I have a perfect peace about the whole thing. Not because I know how it will turn out but because I know it is the only possible correct decision. It is not even absolutely essential that Trump be convicted. Certainty of conviction isn’t justice or accountability. I similarly have no personal need for Trump to lose his money or his freedom [even though] I think he deserves [to lose] both. But that’s for the courts to decide.
The administration of the law is how a society speaks to itself about what is acceptable and what is not. And through his actions Donald Trump has left us with only one possible response.
See Talking Points Memo, Editor’s Blog, How To Think About the Trump Indictment(s) And Find Inner Peace.
As Yogi Berra is credited with saying, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” We had no choice but to take the fork in the road that leads to a future in which no one is above the law. We should be at peace with the only decision that guarantees the safety and security of our democracy. So, take a breath, rest, and relax as we prepare for the challenges to come.
The Comment section is open to paying subscribers. As always, please be respectful and “like” worthy comments to promote them to the top for other readers to see.
Have a good weekend everyone! Talk to you on Monday!
Thank you, Robert and Jill, for your tireless efforts to keep us informed and uplifted. There is no value in looking at a glass half empty when you can see it as half full. I think those who object to your positive viewpoint may be trying to prepare themselves to lose before the results are known so they aren't disappointed or caught off guard. Or maybe they are just exhausted and depressed from this fight. But as you've pointed out, that's no way to win.
I appreciated Rachel Maddow's perspective tonight. She discussed the wild news cycle around Nixon's vice president's legal troubles. Spiro Agnew engaged in a cesspool of criminal behavior, but ended up making a deal to leave public office in 1973 in exchange for his freedom in lieu of a trial. Her point was that that legal situation was a public circus and Agnew was a vicious mudslinger somewhat like Trump. But the event passed and most people barely remember his name now.
I think the name "Trump" will live in infamy regardless of what happens in the next several years as we all plow through his legal troubles and his flailing, vicious, racist, antisemitic, misogynistic rantings and unending narcissistic cries of persecution by the majority. He will fight like a rabid dog and attempt to take this country down with him. But he won't succeed.
Now that the shoe has finally dropped in the first indictment, there is a comfort in seeing our legal system finally going into action. As the other indictments in the many lawsuits brewing against the former president are announced in the months ahead, like planes landing in sequence at La Guardia, I believe the legal system will stand up to the pressure.
Regardless of the flying verbal garbage swirling from wherever Trump is located, we can all take comfort in knowing that the wheels of justice grind slowly in this country...sometimes excruciatingly so...but they are still moving with force and clearly defined rules, propelled quietly by talented, brave, dedicated judges and lawyers that take their jobs very seriously. Whatever the outcome, it will be clear both here and around the world, that no one in the American democracy is above the law.
And as hard as it may be for some to believe, I think if we lift up our heads and squint towards the long view of the future, this whole dark, evil, difficult chapter of the super rich, far right Republicans trying to drag us all back into the last century will fade in the decades to come. Because good people stood up and did something to reassert sanity and the rule of law.
So thank you to all of you good people across this country who are working to get us past this historic black hole of attempted fascism, illiberalism and hate. All of you are what make America great and I'd bet my money on you every time. Have a peaceful weekend.
That's a good point about the E. Jean Carroll trial being "insurance" that Trump appears in New York. There has been some disquiet - voiced notably by Rachel Maddow in her show tonight - that the delay of Trump's arraignment to Tuesday might mean that he changes his mind about surrendering voluntarily since there are many individuals and groups on the right issuing statements that he should refuse and remain in Florida under the "protection" of DeSantis, that he make the New York authorities come and try to take him. But if he is faced with losing the Carroll case, he'd have to come to NYC, so if he wants to play a bullshit game for a few weeks, all that will happen is it will demonstrate to the country that the Republicans have declared war on the rule of law, so they'll lose even bigger by so doing.