In an editorial titled “Donald Trump is not above the law,” the newspaper’s editorial board on Friday New York Times He asked to prosecute the former president.
The Justice Department is advancing a criminal investigation into highly classified documents Trump improperly concealed at his Mar-a-Lago mansion in Palm Beach, Florida, but, according to the editorial, he should also face charges for his role in inciting the Trump attack. January 6 against the United States Capitol and for his efforts to nullify the 2020 presidential election.
“Mr. Trump’s unprecedented assault on the integrity of American democracy requires a criminal investigation,” the editorial says. “The disturbing details of his post-election misconduct, meticulously assembled by the January 6 committee, leave little doubt that Mr. Trump sought to subvert the Constitution and override the will of the American people. The president, defeated at the polls in 2020, tried to recruit federal law enforcement authorities, state officials and administrators of the nation’s electoral system in a furious effort to stay in power. When all else failed, he incited an armed mob that stormed the Capitol and threatened lawmakers.”
“This editorial board is aware that in deciding how Mr. Trump should be held accountable under the law, it is necessary to consider not only whether criminal prosecution would be warranted, but also whether it would be prudent. No American president has ever been criminally prosecuted after leaving office.”
“When President Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon, he ensured that Nixon would not be prosecuted for the crimes committed during the Watergate scandal; Ford explained this decision by warning that the prosecution posed serious risks of arousing “passions” and worsening political polarization.”
This time, however, exonerating a former president of such serious accusations simply because of his stature is a “far greater risk,” the editorial argued. Trump’s actions as a public official, like no other since the Civil War, struck at the heart of our system of government. He used the power of his office to subvert the rule of law. If we hesitate to call those actions and the perpetrator of him criminal, then we are saying that he is above the law and giving future presidents license to do whatever.”
“No one should revel in the prospect of this or any former president facing criminal prosecution,” the editorial concluded. Trump’s actions have embarrassed one of the world’s oldest democracies and destabilized its future. Even justice before the law will not erase that stain. Impeaching Mr. Trump will also not fix the structural problems that led to the greatest crisis of American democracy since the Civil War. But it is a necessary first step to do it.”
