OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
The New York Times is showing its anti-Trump bias again.
This time the editorial board of The Times has said that former President Donald Trump should be indicted by Attorney general Merrick Garland and sent to prison.
The piece, titled “Donald Trump Is Not Above the Law,” started with the sentence “Mr. Trump’s unprecedented assault on the integrity of American democracy requires a criminal investigation.”
“The disturbing details of his postelection misfeasance, meticulously assembled by the Jan. 6 committee, leaves little doubt that Mr. Trump sought to subvert the Constitution and overturn the will of the American people.
“The president, defeated at the polls in 2020, tried to enlist federal law enforcement authorities, state officials and administrators of the nation’s electoral system in a furious effort to remain in power. When all else failed, he roused an armed mob that stormed the Capitol and threatened lawmakers,” it said.
The editorial board had previously supported the former president’s impeachment and removal from office.
“If Attorney General Merrick Garland and his staff conclude that there is sufficient evidence to establish Mr. Trump’s guilt on a serious charge in a court of law, then they must indict him, too,” it said.
“No one should revel in the prospect of this or any former president facing criminal prosecution,” the board said. “Mr. Trump’s actions have brought shame on one of the world’s oldest democracies and destabilized its future.
“Even justice before the law will not erase that stain. Nor will prosecuting Mr. Trump fix the structural problems that led to the greatest crisis in American democracy since the Civil War. But it is a necessary first step toward doing so,” it said.
The board continued by priaising Garland.
“Mr. Garland has been deliberate, methodical and scrupulous in his leadership of the Justice Department’s investigations of the Jan. 6 attack and the transfer of documents to Mr. Trump’s home,” the board said. “But no matter how careful he is or how measured the prosecution might be, there is a real and significant risk from those who believe that any criticism of Mr. Trump justifies an extreme response.
“Yet it is a far greater risk to do nothing when action is called for,” it said.
The board pointed to the fact that former President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for the Watergate scandal and said that he had warned that “such a prosecution posed grave risks of rousing ‘ugly passions’ and worsening political polarization.”
“That warning is just as salient today,” it said. “Pursuing prosecution of Mr. Trump could further entrench support for him and play into the conspiracy theories he has sought to stoke. It could inflame the bitter partisan divide, even to the point of civil unrest.
“A trial, if it is viewed as illegitimate, could also further undermine confidence in the rule of law, whatever the eventual outcome,” it said.
Former President Donald Trump has responded after a Florida judge said she was inclined to give him what he wants.
“Federal Judge in Florida just took over the Presidential Records Act case, including the unprecedented, unnecessary, and unannounced FBI/DOJ Raid (Break-In!) of my home, Mar-a-Lago. This assault was done for political purposes just prior to the Midterm Elections (and 2024, of course!). It is a disgrace to our now Third World Nation!” the former president said.
A federal judge has announced his preliminary intent to appoint a special master, as requested by the attorneys for former President Donald Trump, to review documents that the FBI took from mar-a-Lago.
On Saturday, U.S. District Judge from the Southern District of Florida Judge Aileen M. Cannon said the decision was made based on submissions from the former president’s attorneys and “the exceptional circumstances presented,” Fox News reported.
A hearing is set for Sept. 1 at 1:00 p.m. in West Palm Beach, Fla. Cannon also ordered the Justice Department to file a response by Aug. 30 and provide, “under seal,” a “more detailed Receipt for Property specifying all property seized pursuant to the search warrant executed on August 8, 2022.”
The current property receipt shows that FBI agents took approximately 20 boxes of items from the premises, including one set of documents marked as “Various classified/TS/SCI documents,” which refers to top secret/sensitive compartmented information.
Records covered by that government classification level could potentially include human intelligence and information that, if disclosed, could jeopardize relations between the U.S. and other nations, as well as the lives of intelligence operatives abroad. However, the classification also encompasses national security information related to the daily operations of the president of the United States.