Uhhhh, What?

 Jill Lepore, one of America's finest historians, argues that we should not have any sort of prosecution or truth and reconciliation commission to look at the Trump years. Her argument is that prosecuting our political enemies is not how mature, functioning democracies work. That's true, but it completely ignores the extraordinary criminality that seems to rest in the heart of Trumpistan. Sam Tanenhaus offers a counterargument as to why we need to reckon with these years.

The problem with Lepore's argument is that it suggests that Trump's wrongdoings are somehow entirely political actions. Here's what we can credibly suggest from the evidence: 

- He has cheated on his taxes over the course of his entire life.
- He has taken bribes and payoffs via his properties.
- He has pressured foreign and domestic governments with retribution or "favors" to help him politically.
- He and his administration committed criminal acts along the southern border with their child separation policy.
- He committed myriad campaign finance violations.
- He has violated the Hatch Act with stunning frequency.
- He has corrupted the Department of Justice into his own personal law firm.
- He's probably a serial rapist.
- He has used the government to punish enemies like Jeff Bezos.
- He has and currently is inciting violence against Americans.
- He has obstructed justice.
- He probably perjured himself in the Mueller investigation.

That's probably an incomplete list. Lepore thinks that somehow electoral defeat will be some sort of self-correction, and holding Trump accountable for his crimes will somehow criminalize politics. She worries that we when a Republican holds power again, that will lead to similar charges and abuses of power.

Except Trump would very much like to do this right now. He's been leading "lock her up" chants for five years. The only thing that has prevented him has been the fact that there is no credible evidence against Clinton. None. They investigated the shit out of her and found nothing that could withstand the scrutiny of a trial.

If Trump is charged - and you notice I left of his incompetent handling of the coronavirus, because incompetence is not a crime - it will be because there is sufficient evidence to do so. Trump should not be charged for being a racist or being cruel. He should be charged if he has done crimes, and the evidence if overwhelming that he has.

Robert Mueller basically determined that he could not charge the President of the United States with a crime, because...you can't charge the President with a crime. If you can't charge the former President with a crime - or any of his cronies and family members - then you have created a lawless class. You've normalized criminal behavior at the highest reaches of government. Lepore can't possibly think that's OK.

Democracies exist because the rule of law binds the powerful as well as the weak. We know, in our guts, that the powerful can usually escape justice through high powered lawyers. Much of Trump's tax practices skirt the law, because he can hire clever people to exploit loopholes. I don't think we should prosecute Trump for his coronavirus failures (unless he was trying to profit off of it somehow). 

We absolutely must hold Trump and Trumpism legally accountable. We must empower an independent prosecutor to look into every possible crime committed by Trump's administration.  Sure, there is a possibility that the more deranged Trumpists will commit violence on his behalf. We already have tens of thousands of Americans dead from Trump's misgovernance. There are dead children on our southern border because of him. Sadly, this moment requires us to defend our democracy from creeping authoritarianism. The only antidote is law.

Let it come.