Former Presidents Charged with a Crime
In 1804, Aaron Burr, the country’s Vice President, was indicted for the killing of Alexander Hamilton in a duel. The case never went to trial.
As an aside already in this piece, here’s how that indictment read: Aaron Burr, late of the Township of Bergen in the County of Bergen, esquire, not having the fear of God before his eyes but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the Devil … feloniously, willfully and of his malice aforethought did make an assault upon Alexander Hamilton … [who] of the said mortal wounds died.” We don’t see indictments reading like that anymore.
But on to the subject today.
President Ulysses S. Grant was the only president ever brought into custody, but his arrest was over a speeding charge, which resulted in release and a fine. It was not related to his role as President. President Richard Nixon’s likely indictment led his successor, President Gerald Ford, to pardon him. President Bill Clinton escaped indictment after negotiation with special counsel over false testimony given in the Monica Lewinsky scandal.
In the history of the United States, no president has ever been indicted or charged with a serious crime after their time in office.
Further, while scandals have abounded throughout history, no U.S. president has ever been indicted for crimes committed while serving in the White House. The legal immunity granted to sitting presidents has thus far shielded them from facing criminal charges during their term.
Regardless of your political party affiliation or your attitude toward Donald Trump, if you believe in the Constitution and an impartial, fair justice system you must question or even surmise that the current 4 separate indictments for crimes faced by Donald Trump go beyond the pale. Add to that all 4 indictments are made in an election year in which Trump is a candidate for president. If the justice system was working fairly, these indictments would have been brought long before 2024.
So, with the unprecedented nature of indicting a former president for a crime and the timing of bringing those charges stinks to high heaven in the United States.
Dealing with the 4 different courts in 4 different jurisdictions all at the same time is not only expensive but time-consuming.
There are few legal experts who would argue SCOTUS would likely uphold any ‘guilty’ verdict that might be found on any of the charges. In other words, the Supreme Court would likely overturn any guilty verdict.
Meanwhile a whole host of Constitutional issues seemingly have been ignored before and during these trials including the First, Fifth, Sixth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments.
SCOTUS has already struck down attempts by several states to exclude Trump from their November ballots based on not only un-convicted but uncharged crimes surrounding the events January 6, 2021.
When the logical, impartial mind looks at what’s the happening to Donald Trump, it’s obvious the charges and the timing thereof represent a coordinated conspiracy to defeat Trump in the upcoming election.
This is the kind of blatant indifference to the law and the Constitution that we might expect from countries run by one political party and/or headed by an autocrat.
In the Trump cases, the different courts move at different paces and appeals are to different courts in each case. Regardless, the time and expense would spell bankruptcy for most of us. I can only guess what our emotions, moods, attitudes, and outlooks might be if it were happening to any one of us. What’s scary is that it apparently could happen to any of us that might even be considered a bump in the road to the twisted and unilateral use of the law.
To answer the question of whether Trump could be elected as president after a criminal conviction the answer is “yes.”
The Qualifications Clause set forth in Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 requires the President to be a natural-born citizen, be at least thirty-five years of age, and a resident of the United States for at least fourteen years. That’s it.
At any other time in our history, what’s happening to former President Donald Trump would be considered a shameful scandal. But with most of our main street media/news outlets being anti-Trump biased, the would-be scandal is more appropriately represented by a “Lock Him Up” approach to the seemingly never ending legal challenges faced by the former president.
Want democracy?
Let’s vote on it.
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Have a great and prosperous week.
Hug somebody.
References:
SPIDER Bytes
This week’s trivia question is: In a quest to replace rubber, James Wright accidentally invented what common toy? The answer to last week’s question re: What 1949 science fiction book by author George Orwell describes a dystopian world in the future. 1984. Orwell’s 9th and final book, civilization has been ravaged by world war, civil conflict, and revolution. The province of Oceania, one of the three totalitarian super-states that rule the world, is ruled by “The Party” and the mysterious leader Big Brother. The Party brutally purges out anyone who does not fully conform to their regime, using the Thought Police and constant surveillance through telescreens, cameras, and hidden microphones. Those who fall out of favor with the Party become “unpersons”, disappearing with all evidence of their existence destroyed.
The antisemitic, anti-American, pro Hamas/Palestine protests taking place on our university campuses are unbelievable occurrences in 2024. The safety of Jewish students resulted in Columbia U. moving to limit/move classes to remote status. The students involved obviously did not have a class in history or the U.S. Constitution or Hamas. Parents and students spending inflated tuition costs and other expenses at these colleges must be thinking of changing to alternative institutions where academics are the leading focus. Meanwhile the DOJ needs to get involved to prosecute the ringleaders and identify the funding – and remove visas for foreign students involved.
The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (ever heard of it?) reported on a study last week that showed even if CO2 emissions were to be drastically cut down starting today, the world economy is already committed to an income reduction of 19 % until 2050 due to climate change. The Institute obviously has some real versatile people who are not only ‘expert’ climatologists but ‘expert’ economists. We better bow down before shaking in fear.
CA residents saw their gasoline prices hit $7.29/gallon last week. Since sales of vehicles with combustion engines will be banned by 2035, the political plan is to accelerate the use of EVs. The consumer doesn’t have a say in the debacle.
The economy grew at an anemic 1.6% in the 1st Q. Inflation was double that.
