The Trump administration has discovered a danger in the political use of investigative power: someone else might exercise it. After pursuing the president’s adversaries, the White House is now warning that Democrats’ promised oversight could itself become criminal. What is missing from that warning is a consistent standard—one that protects political opponents as well as political allies. The standard cannot change with the target.
by Kevin Seraaj, J.D., M.Div., OrlandoAdvocate.com
In the aftermath of the midterm elections, GOP lawmakers, staffers and beneficiaries of grift and graft have become suddenly put off by the pledges made by incoming Democrats that the blatant and very public corruption and misdealing of the present administration will be investigated.
If there was ever a mandate from the people, it is to do what President Trump promised he would do but failed miserably to even begin to address: drain the swamp. The people want an end to corruption and self-dealing and mistreatment of the working class Americans at the expense of the very rich.
Drain the swamp and the Epstein files are released and traffickers of young girls go to prison.
Drain the swamp and rampant bribery of public officials by wealthy people both nationals and foreigners come to an end and crooked lawbreakers go to prison.
Drain the swamp and war criminals who flippantly and intentionally kill unarmed civilian non-combatants are prosecuted and go to prison.
Drain the swamp and lawmakers who stand by and allow the president and people within his department to deprive U.S. citizens of their rights to due process by sending federal agents into Democrat-aligned states and cities to harass, arrest and even kill in the name of mass deportation will be exposed and subjected to loss of their jobs.
A promise to investigate credible allegations and to prosecute where warranted is not a promise of revenge. The distinction is whether evidence determines the target—or the target determines the search for evidence. Republicans– like everyone else– are entitled to demand fairness, due process and prosecutorial independence. Democrats unsuccessfully demanded it, too.
Even now, the White House warns that Democrats’ promised investigations could cross into “blatant criminality,” while Attorney General Todd Blanche refuses to rule out prosecuting lawmakers over their investigative threats. Incoming House Oversight chair Robert Garcia says Democrats will not be intimidated. “Lawyer up,” he warned.
Consider the prosecutions of James Comey and Letitia James. These were not just cases that happened to involve the president’s opponents. First came the President’s pressure to bring charges and a veteran prosecutor’s refusal to yield to that pressure. He then left the prosecutor’s office. A judge then dismissed both cases because the replacement prosecutor had been unlawfully appointed. That ruling did not establish the defendants’ innocence. It did, however, establish that the administration’s push to prosecute was contrary to the law governing its own prosecutorial authority.
The contradiction is not simply that Republicans supported investigations before the midterms and oppose them now. Different investigations can warrant different judgments.
During the first two years of Trump’s second term, the administration pursued and prosecuted a number of presidential adversaries under pressure from the president, but now the very idea that Democrats will look into Republican conduct as potentially criminal has the White House talking about pre-emptive prosecutions.
An endless cycle of retaliatory prosecutions would be destructive. Democrats should promise a process, not a list of convictions: documented allegations, legitimate oversight, independent prosecutorial judgment and full rights for the accused. If the evidence does not support charges, no charges should follow. If it does, political status should not supply immunity.
The answer to politically driven prosecution is an independent process that can distinguish an allegation from evidence, evidence from a charge, and a charge from guilt. Republicans are right to demand that standard for Trump administration officials. But they should then explain why they did not insist on it when the president’s adversaries were the targets.
Accountability is not revenge. But demanding accountability for your opponents and exemption for yourself is not only disengenuous, but utter and complete hypocrisy.
- Kevin Seraaj
- Kevin Seraaj
- Kevin Seraaj
- Kevin Seraaj
