I don’t know if I want to put this out in social media, yet or ever. I am not looking to pick fights about either Nixon or Trump, but as more and more emerges about Trump, I can’t help but speculate on the power of politics on crime and justice.
When
Nixon knew that Watergate meant that he would be impeached and probably
convicted, he resigned. He never acknowledged his culpability, but said he was
forced to resign when his political support collapsed. Gerald Ford gave him a
Presidential Pardon to spare the country from a very ugly and destructive legal
situation. Many Democrats even thanked him, not for letting Nixon off the hook,
but for letting the country off the hook. So we don’t have an historical precedent
for handling legal proceeding against a former US President.
As
more and more problematic information about Trump’s political and business
practices surfaces, I am seeing many observers predicting that he cannot escape
legal consequences. Yet at the same time, his supporters not only dismiss all
of this as politically motivated theater, but affirm their allegiance to him. Trump’s loyal base does not seem to
be wavering much, even as jockeying for position seems to undermine the unity
of those seeking to hold him accountable.
Nixon
considered the collapse of his presidency to have been a loss of political
support. At this point, Trump and his supporters seem to think politics can
protect him from legal consequences. Almost halfway through the public phase of
the January 6 Committee’s hearings, I will be interested to see how all of this
shakes out. If Trump is truly legally vulnerable, will that ever be discerned
if his political base collapses? If his political base remains strong, will we
ever know if he should have been charged? If two competing political power
blocks come to an impasse, will that further the division and fragmentation of
the country, regardless of the legal outcomes?
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