Problem With Trump Indictment Is That It Took So Long To Happen

Yesterday, history was made.  Donald Trump became the first ex-President to be charged criminally.  A Manhattan grand jury issued an indictment which reportedly contain 30 plus counts of criminal activity by the ex-President.  We don't know yet the details.  No doubt there will be surprises.

I am a lifelong Republican.  I remain a Republican today, despite my

profound disappointment with the GOP leaving its honor and integrity behind as it latched its fortunes to a failed businessman, reality show host.  Donald Trump doesn't get to define what the GOP stands for.  Political parties are defined by the collective, not by any individual.  In that regard, while I am still disappointed, I will not disassociate myself with the only political party which (sometimes only on paper) still stands for the conservative ideals espoused by Ronald Reagan.  

As news of Trump's indictment came out yesterday, I was appalled, albeit not surprised, by the number of Republican elected officials who immediately ran to his defense.  Many of these are the same people who cheered Trump in 2016 as he led chants of "Lock Her Up" when it came to Hillary Clinton's email server problem.  While Hillary was clearly in the wrong and there was grounds to prosecute her, Trump's criminal conduct over the years makes Hillary's offense look like jaywalking.  Yet Trump apologists consistently insist that the former President should be given a pass, that Donald Trump is above the law that everyone else is expected to follow.

Balderdash.  The problem is not that Trump was charged criminally.  The problem is that it took so long.  I am so tired of the rubbish that prosecutors at the Department of Justice and Fulton County, Georgia, need more time to put together their cases.  By delaying the prosecutions so long, they gave time for Trump to announce he is a candidate in 2024, thus making any prosecutions look political in nature.  

As far as the prosecution out of Manhattan, let's not forget that the Trump Justice Department prosecuted Trump's attorney, Michael Cohen, for a campaign contribution violation by paying hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels at the behest of "Individual 1."  Individual 1, aka Donald Trump, was not prosecuted at the time almost certainly because he was then President and the Department of Justice had a policy against bringing criminal charges against a sitting President.  But as of January 21, 2021 that policy no longer protected Donald Trump yet the Biden Justice Department, led by former federal judge Merrick Garland, has failed to act.  Don't get me started on Garland.  I had doubts about his ability to lead the Justice Department from Day 1 and I think I've been proven to be spectacularly correct.  Garland's failure to act more expeditiously has hamstrung any future federal prosecution of Trump.

Additional indictments of Trump, on much more serious matters, are no doubt coming. By the time the final chapter regarding Donald Trump is written, no doubt this first indictment will be merely a footnote.