Trump's attempting to merchandise that the Deep State is corrupt and squashing his rights and that of all Americans. Garland and the Dems are playing into this narrative by prosecuting his taking of some insignificant documents. Prior to the Presidential Records Act Trump (1978) wouldn't have even been breaking the law.
Don't elevate Trump's status any further with his supporters. Nail him on something "real" that you can prove or let the American public choose not to elect him. The latter requires some faith in democracy.
Merrick Garland’s Special Counsel Mistake on Trump
The Attorney General’s decision offers the appearance of political insulation that Trump supporters won’t believe.
By The Editorial Board, WSJ
Updated Nov. 18, 2022 6:38 pm ET
Merrick Garland’s decision Friday to appoint a special counsel in the criminal investigations of Donald Trump is almost certainly a mistake, as such appointments usually are. This won’t offer the Attorney General the political insulation he is seeking, and it won’t change the inherently political nature of any decision to prosecute.
“Based on recent developments, including the former President’s announcement that he is a candidate for President in the next election, and the sitting President’s stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a Special Counsel,” Mr. Garland said at the Justice Department. “Such an appointment underscores the Department’s commitment to both independence and accountability in particularly sensitive matters.”
It would be nice to think that were true, but more than Mr. Garland’s intentions are involved here. Jack Smith, the counsel Mr. Garland named, has a sterling prosecutorial resume. For all we know he’s Eliot Ness. But no one in the Trump universe is going to believe that any decision to prosecute Mr. Trump would be truly independent of the Attorney General who works for President Biden. That’s plain reality.
A spokesperson for Mr. Trump was quick to underscore the point: “This is a totally expected political stunt by a feckless, politicized, weaponized Biden Department of Justice.” Robert Mueller, the Russia collusion special counsel, staffed his investigation with partisan Democrats, and his probe turned into a debacle. That’s the unhappy context that Mr. Smith will have to deal with, however unfair that is to him.
The AG has handed Mr. Smith decisions on both the Mar-a-Lago documents case and whether Mr. Trump or others “unlawfully interfered with the transfer of power” after the 2020 election or with the Electoral College vote count. We’ve yet to see evidence that Mr. Trump committed a criminal offense on the latter, and the Presidential Records Act stipulates minor penalties for mishandling documents.
The prosecution of a former President, especially one running against Mr. Biden, had better be for serious offenses. The evidence should be so compelling that it persuades fair-minded Republicans, not merely MSNBC or CNN anchors. Mr. Garland signed up to make these difficult calls when he agreed to be AG, and he should have made them on Mr. Trump himself.
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