Enough Already

The office meant to lead the free world was consumed with personal slights and grievances. We’ve never had such a complainer. Finally, it looks as though the long arm of the law caught up with him.

In the aftermath of the legally obtained and executed search warrant on the Former Guy’s residence, the sides have predictably lined up: Law abiders supporting the rule of law; conspiracy theorists believing that he’s above the law, or that their imagined “Deep State” makes his lawlessness okay.

There were headlines about how “shocking” the FBI’s action was. What is shocking about the FBI serving a legally obtained search warrant on Mr. Trump’s home? This is a man who has defied political, social, and legal norms, undermined the very Constitution and laws the President is sworn to protect, and lied about anything and everything. Why exactly is it shocking that such a person should be held to account? His actions through the years have been unprecedented, so I wonder why anyone is shocked that the FBI would take the unprecedented step of seeking, obtaining, and executing a search warrant on a former President. It is only unprecedented because no former President has behaved so poorly.

It should surprise no one that he’s using the moment to fundraise—it took less than hour after he complained about the “raid.” And is “raid” even the proper term, or is it simply “executing a legal search”? I usually think of a raid as being action packed, as the verb implies, like swooping into Bin Ladin’s compound, or forcefully busting up an Al Capone warehouse. This was not that.  

My grandmother, a not-very sophisticated emigre from Eastern Europe, used to sit and watch the televangelists for hours on end. She even sent them money when they begged. She was moved by their seeming sincerity and deeply rooted faith. That fact that she was Jewish was of no consequence to her. They believed, and that was enough for her.

And so it is with the Trump faithful. Ripping their underwear to get the money out so they can support this obvious grifter. But grifting is in the eye of the beholder. I could not convince my grandmother that the TV preachers were grifters. Once strong emotion takes hold there is no logic in the world that trumps it (pun intended).

Now Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Mars) and her cohorts in the Performance Arts are demanding that we defund the FBI. Defunding law enforcement was a stupid idea when some on the Left recommended it in the wake of George Floyd’s murder (the Right made serious money fundraising on that idiocy), and it’s stupid now.

So a slippery guy blows-up every norm of public life and trust, complaining all the while about his victimhood, constantly airing his grievances, and driving through every guardrail our institutions (and decency) have had in place for centuries, and it’s shocking when the Teflon wears off and he’s held to account?

The generally incomprehensible Senate candidate Herschel Walker said, “If they can do it to a former president, they can do to you.” I know that the hard Right believes that to be an indictment of the system, but I see it as praise. It underscores the idea that no man is above the law.

The judge allowed DOJ to release the warrant. Conspiracists were unsatisfied, saying they wanted to see the affidavit presented to obtain the warrant, but that would jeopardize witnesses, whistleblowers, and the investigation itself. The reasonable two-thirds of our population are satisfied that the system is working. No logic can sway the rest.

Also worthy of note are the critics who say the DOJ is a White House lackey. That doesn’t make sense because after the historical passing of Joe Biden‘s healthcare and climate change initiatives, he would’ve liked to take a victory lap; instead, he fell out of the news cycle.

And just for the sake of irony, a Washington Post analysis that reveals “Citizen Trump may have broken a law that President Trump made a felony.” It was only  a misdemeanor to keep classified documents prior to him signing new penalties into law.

After seven decades of leadership, he is the sole reason the rest of the free world questions our intentions. Misunderstanding, or even enjoying, our reduced stature in the world—a stature being repaired daily by Joe Biden—a slew of websites, podcasts, radio shows, and cable news outlets (no, I won’t follow my normal protocol by linking to them; they get plenty of play without my help) are now outwardly advocating violence against law enforcement, specifically the FBI and its agents. They are locked and loaded and goading their followers to do the same, with most unfortunate results. I guess they haven’t been paying attention to the 1/6 hearings and the fact that hundreds of their fellow misguided souls are in jail.

For me, assailing law enforcement and the legal process is enough already.

©2022 Jon Sinton