Trump's Indictment

 It is the first time in American history that a former president has been indicted on federal charges. 

Robert Reich,

But this fact alone doesn’t come close to signifying the gravity of the situation. 

Today (Friday) federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment, which charges that Trump illegally kept hold of documents concerning “United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack,” and the nation’s vulnerabilities to military attack, and that he shared a “plan of attack” against Iran with visitors.

This, my friends, is treason. “Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States, and they must be enforced,” Special Counsel Jack Smith said this afternoon. “Violations of those laws put our country at risk.”

The charges also include obstruction of justice, false statements, and conspiracy — all of which carry the potential for years in prison if he is found guilty. 

Trump will appear in federal court in Miami for an arraignment on Tuesday.

Trump and his defenders — and there will be many (such as nearly every lawmaker in the Republican Party) — will argue that Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton did the same as Trump did, and yet only Trump is being subject to a Justice Department indictment. 

Rubbish. 

There is no evidence anywhere that Hillary Clinton jeopardized national security. As to Biden, he came forward to volunteer that he had found classified documents among his private possessions. 

Trump’s willful violation of the law isn’t just any willful violation; it is a violation that has potentially compromised the security of the United States. 

Since he was elected in 2016, Trump has displayed the character of a classic authoritarian (fascist) leader who sees no difference between himself and the nation he is supposed to lead. Add to this Trump’s sociopathic narcissism, and you begin to see why he considers the top-secret documents as belonging to him rather than to the American people. Trump believes that he himself is America. 

Many Republicans consider national security the highest and most sacred goal of the Republic. A large number have served in the armed forces, many with distinction. How can they abide a former president who has so egregiously risked the security of the nation? 

Part of me wishes that instead of this being the first federal indictment of Trump, it would have been for his seditious conspiracy against the United States when he instigated a coup. 

But this indictment comes very close. If these charges are proven, they are diabolically consistent with seditious conspiracy.

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Robert Reich,