Volume 11, Issue 13
America today has tragically taken a page out of the Argentina political playbook.
Former President Donald Trump has been indicted by a state grand jury on 34 felony counts. The actual criminal acts are misdemeanors that can only be extended to felonies if the misdemeanors were perpetrated to cover up another crime. The additional crime does not have to be proven by the prosecution, only that the defendant intended to commit another crime.
Many former prosecutors and legal analysts opine that the felony counts are very thin, meaning that they are very difficult to prove. More troubling is the accusation that the former President is being singled out for selective prosecution. Former presidents and government leaders have gotten into trouble before without any manner of accountability.
Former President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hillary Clinton were embroiled in a scandal surrounding the Whitewater real estate development project in Arkansas. Despite substantial evidence of misuse of power, they were never prosecuted. Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Jim Wright was caught up in an improper payments scandal involving securities issued as investments for development of the Sabine oil field. He resigned as Speaker in May of 1989, the only U.S. Speaker to ever do so. After his resignation from Congress, he escaped any charges from being filed. Both of these opprobriums were alleged acts of a felony based on the original evidence. No extension from a misdemeanor was involved. Yet, charges were not pursued.
President Clinton was impeached by Congress. President Trump was impeached twice. But President Clinton was never formally charged in a court of law. No one is above the law. However, the public despises a double standard of selective enforcement.
These indictments against former President Trump leave a suspicious odor of the extraction of judicial due process in an effort to prevent him from ever running for President again. This is the imprimatur of a third world country wherein people in power seek to eliminate opposition by manipulation of the legal system.
Whatever the motivation of the Manhattan District Attorney, the ultimate outcome may not be the intended result. President Trump’s base, approximately 24% of the vote, is dedicated to him personally. This indictment will not change their support or commitment to his candidacy. Another 27% may vote for President Trump if their only other option is President Biden. President Biden on the other hand, has no such committed base. His basic support favors him in opposition to President Trump. There is not a further substantial voting bloc that would support President Biden just because he was the lesser of two evils. Indicting President Trump may have solidified the former president’s standing in the upcoming Republican primary battle and set the stage for a Biden-Trump head-to-head contest. Recent polling following the indictment shows former President Trump leading President Biden 42% to 41%. A majority of Independents who may have voted for President Biden are now sympathetic to and leaning towards President Trump because of what appears to be a misguided prosecutorial decision at best, or political manipulation at worst.
What is at stake for the United States?
China continues to pursue a new alliance of nations that will recognize the Chinese yuan as a primary currency. If they are successful, the dollar will be challenged as the world’s reserve currency sending initial inflationary forces through the world’s banking system.
Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, yesterday authored a letter to bank investors declaring that the banking crisis is not over. He predicted recession at some level by the first quarter of next year.
The U.S. debt ceiling authorized by Congress could potentially be reached as early as July of this year. The United States is currently deficit spending $1.7 trillion this fiscal year. President Biden has shown no inclination in cutting the budget. Republicans in Congress have produced no material plan for cutting the deficits. The U.S. government is on a collision course with financial reality. If Congress and the President wait too long to reach an agreement, the world’s banking system could be the casualty.
Political gridlock that does not respect democracy and trust the people’s judgment is doomed to failure.
Democracy has been the benefactor of the average individual since 1776. Only when disrespected by government, disrupting the natural process by corruption in politics interceding and short-circuiting the people’s will through the democratic process, has democracy ever been impeded.
If democracy could speak, it would say, “Do cry for me America,” for life will not go on as we know it after I’m gone.
We Americans know our common heritage. We have common beliefs. We have common virtues. We have common faiths. And most importantly, we respect each other’s family values.
No matter what invades or impacts America’s democratic process, we as citizens must protect it with every fiber of our being…
For our collective will is the righteous solution for whatever future challenges our country may face.
My name is Marc Nuttle and this is what I believe.
What do you believe?