In some ways this is a nothing story. The arrest may not happen and, in any case, there isn’t much one can usefully say about events that haven’t happened yet.
Still, it is probably best to not arrest a former president. Even if you believe in the pious cliche that “no one is above the law,” such an arrest will diminish the office. It would be like telling the world we are not a serious country; our most powerful people have no legitimacy.
It may be a core American value to regard our leaders as inherently unimportant — indeed, we may have appropriated this very notion from the indigenous peoples our European ancestors found so interesting (and vexing). But I don’t imagine that this is the way the rest of the world thinks. Should Donald Trump be arrested, Joe Biden and everyone who props him up will lose a little geopolitical stature.
Tidewater News and Opinion Forum 
Call me pious but no one is above the law.
Standing up for that principle is what engenders respect, not kowtowing to a rabid minority and their threats of violence.
As always Trump is the author of his own problems. He is callous, selfish, and stupid. It is what happens when you spend a lifetime shielded from the consequences of your crimes by a small army of lawyers. It is time to pay the piper. His criminal behavior in connection with his porn star dalliance is one of his less serious crimes. There will be more to come.
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RE: “Standing up for that principle is what engenders respect, not kowtowing to a rabid minority and their threats of violence.”
If you say so…But who is listening?
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“If you say so…But who is listening?”
I think it is safe to say that your post and mine are both seen by the same sets of eyes. So your silly response is – well – silly.
This difference between us displays the ethical difference between “conservatives” and most Americans. For you a bedrock principle of government of the people, by the people, for the people – that ALL are constrained by law – is nothing but a pious cliché. For the rest of us it is a serious matter that we ignore at great peril.
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RE: “For you a bedrock principle of government of the people, by the people, for the people – that ALL are constrained by law – is nothing but a pious cliché.”
Don’t be ridiculous. I said no such thing. So, if it is ethical issues you really want to debate, let’s start with your willfull misrepresentation.
Apart from that, why don’t you respond to the question I actually asked — why should, or why do you believe, the world at large shares your view that “Standing up for [the] principle is what engenders respect”?
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“Don’t be ridiculous. I said no such thing”
Yes, you did, you jerk. And once again you accuse someone else of dishonesty based on nothing but your own stupidity and/or unwillingness to own what you write.
Your words were . . . “Even if you believe in the pious cliche that “no one is above the law?”
There is nothing ambiguous or equivocal about your calling that principle a “pious cliche.” And further evidence that you were not misrepresented is your claim that applying that principle to Donald Trump would be “like telling the world that we are not a serious country.”
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Those are my words. Where did I say that “pious cliches” are bad?
Also, I clearly wrote that diminishing the office “would be like telling the world we are not a serious country.”
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“Where did I say that “pious cliches” are bad?”
And where did I say they were bad?
Good, bad, or neutral you said that this key principle “that no man is above the law” is a “pious cliche.”
I did not misrepresent you in any way. Not even a little bit. But out comes your stupid accusations of unethical behavior.
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The OFFICE is not diminished. The Orange skinned ASS you voted for is the one who should be diminished. He breaks laws and norms and you jackals CHEER him for it. He calls for “protests” if he is arrested and you agree. The last time he called for protests wasa 1/6. Didn’t work out so well for the protesters who turned violent.
His words remind of a handy man who says “Watch this shit” when he is about to do something dangerous.
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RE: “I did not misrepresent you in any way. Not even a little bit.”
Too bad you can’t see it.
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You only see it because he called you out for your ridiculous statements. He wadded your panties and you cannot stand it. THis is the same kind of reaction we get form you every time you are challenged and have NO answer to the challenge except to spread the misinterpretation BS. Ort that you and only you have the superior knowledge over everyone else to understand the words you wrote.
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“Too bad you can’t see it.”
Too bad you are a moron.
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RE: “Ort that you and only you have the superior knowledge over everyone else to understand the words you wrote.”
I actually do have superior knowledge about words to some extent. I made my living for 30 years as a writer. In fact, I wrote words worth billions of dollars to the companies that employed me.
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How you made a living with words is beyond comprehension. But there is a difference between technical writing and the fictions, misrepresentations and utter bullshit you wrote on this forum.
And you did it again. YOU are the only one that understands what you mean. The rest of us use reasoning skill and OUR knowledge to attempt to understand you. But even your explanations are just so much fertilizer.
And if you were really good at the writing YOU would have made the billions of dollars.
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“I actually do have superior knowledge about words to some extent . . .”
Milk-out-the-nose funny!
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I made a good living and received the highest possible awards. You should pay attention when I explain about words.
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“I made a good living and received the highest possible awards. You should pay attention when I explain about words.”
I am running out of milk.
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Were you an English Major or just a lucky stiff who learned how to write technical documents?
Either way, your explanation of the words you use fall flat on their face when compared to factual words. ANd NOT the semantics BS games you attempt to play.
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RE: “I am running out of milk.”
Makes sense. You already ran out of brains.
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Too bad you will never run out of fertilizer.
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“… such an arrest will diminish the office.”
Most of us say Trump diminished the office. Holding him responsible for this case, tax and bank fraud, felonious interference in state elections, plotting to steal a free and fair election ending in violence, absconding with top secret document, etc. will restore the office of the president to its proper and dignified place in history.
If his behavior goes unpunished, then we are probably both screwed and be the laughing stock of allies and enemies alike. Unfortunately there are people within our own borders that want us to fail.
IMO
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RE: “If his behavior goes unpunished, then we are probably both screwed and be the laughing stock of Allie’s and enemies alike.”
I don’t see how. Besides, Trump may win at trial; then what?
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If he wins, he wins.
He lost the bank/ tax fraud trial. So he is not immune to justice.
His name is on the authorization to pay off Stormy. The question there is not whether she was paid off, but with what monies and for what reason. It goes from sleaze to felony depending upon verdicts.
There are those who say that Nixon should not have been pardoned. Ford made a plea for healing and so he was let off the hook.
Congressmen, governors and other high officials have gone to jail in our recent history. No reason why a president who abused his office for personal gain to not be accountable for crimes just as the rest of our population.
He is not descended from deity or even appointed by the same. More importantly, his appeal to the electorate is that the elite ignore the average working Americans. Refusing to prosecute based on solid evidence of various crimes just solidifies the privileges of the elite, of which he certainly is one.
Lèse-majesté Does not apply in our country.
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RE: “Lèse-majesté Does not apply in our country.”
That’s the theory. But if I were France, or India, or Austrailia, I would lose respect for a country that prosecutes former leaders. Either that country failed to keep bad leaders out of office, or its current leadership is too weak to survive the corruption of its former leadership.
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“But if I were France, or India, or Austrailia, I would lose respect for a country that prosecutes former leaders.”
That is funny. None of those countries had reason to prosecute former leaders. However, Italy is gonna love us, right? THEY prosecuted Berlusconi.
Your attempted explanations nothing more than YOU claiming moral superiority over all others here.
And you misspelled AUSTRALIA. So much for being good with words.😇
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RE: “Your attempted explanations nothing more than YOU claiming moral superiority over all others here.”
Don’t care.
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I know you don’t care. You are also appearing to be quite a narcissist, like your hero Trump.
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I agree with the writer and Musk. Trump endured 4 years of left wing political harrassment and 2 ridiculously viscious partisan impeachments during his presidency followed by 2 years of a hyper partisan hand wringing Jan 6 select committee comedy that produced zip, nada, squat. And all that chicanery resulted in was higher approval ratings for Trump. The more the left attempts to “get” Trump the more he turns into a folk hero. The cases are spacious at best and even the classified documents case, if pursued, would require Biden and Pence to be charged as well. Many legal scholars have said these cases are all weak and I seriously doubt anyone would even remotely consider hand cuffing a former president over such unless they are begging for a major uproar, lawsuit and second Trump presidency.
In sum, I thought the left didn’t want Trump to be president again but they are doing all they can to make that happen. Of course it could all be a gamble by the left hoping to get Trump on the ballot thinking he would be weaker than Biden. Watch what you ask for….
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If Trump were so lily white innocent, then nothing would have had to be investigated or indicted (which her was TWICE by the HOUSE).
Too bad you and your tribe refuse to believe that he can be anything but the innocent victim of baseless prosecutions. Facts and evidence be damned. It never matters what is true. Just what you WANT to believe.
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Oh contraire, guilt of something is what YOU believe not based on facts. He was impeached, not indicted, twice by hyper partisan house Democrats not the law of truth and justice.
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Impeachment by the House (the second time with 10 Republicans agreeing, which makes it bipartisan) is akin to a criminal indictment. He was found not guilty by a biased jury in the Senate. And his indictments form the courts are coming. Based on the laws of the several states he is facing indictment in and, possibly, by the Federal government.
Get your facts straight next time.
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If they do, they better have an airtight case and it better be for something non-trivial.
Federal and Blue State law enforcement currently have very little credibility as it is, and anything less than perfect and serious and Trump will ride the wave right back the White House, and the Dems will have no one to blame but themselves.
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“Federal and Blue State law enforcement currently have very little credibility”…
Only with those who don’t see criminal activity when done by members of their own tribe.
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Here’s a suggestion.
Watch the “Waco” series available on Showtime and I think Paramount+
It’s factually accurate, If you don’t come out of that wanting to burn the BATF to the ground you have no soul.
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“Waco”
What happened to – all they had to do was comply with lawful orders and warrants of the authorities and nothing bad would have happened? That apply to non-white people only?
Anyway, nearly ancient history has little to do with the prosecution of the criminal Trump.
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Those who won’t learn from history…
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“Those who won’t learn from history…”
And what is the lesson other than the fact that illegal defiance of lawful warrants is a very poor choice?
And, you did not answer the question . . . What happened to – all they had to do was comply with lawful orders and warrants of the authorities and nothing bad would have happened? That apply to non-white people only? That has certainly been your response when black men and boys have ended up dead by the hands of the police. Why is Koresh different?
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That is simply untrue.
The Branch Davidian raid was an attempt to refurbish their PR after the Ruby Ridge screwup.
Randy Weaver was an unsympathetic target. He is a White separatist and militia follower, He supplemented his odd job income as a firearms dealer and gunsmith. There were no problems with his firearms business, but the BATF simply decided they didn’t want someone like Weaver having an FFL. So, they set him up. An undercover agent ordered an expensive pump shotgun from him. When it came in, the agent told him it wasn’t for hunting it was for home defense and he needed it shortened. Weaver shortened the stock and barrel to the legal limit. The agent then said the barrel was still too long and he wanted it 2 inches shorter, to match the end of the magazine tube.
Weaver was in a pickle, he could not afford to lose the sale and eat the cost of the shotgun, and he couldn’t sell it to anyone else for what it cost as it was ruined for hunting.
So, he cut the barrel as requested, and was immediately ticketed for manufacturing a sawed off shotgun.
He wrote to the prosecutor explaining the situation and showed up for the court date on the ticket. His case was not called, so he assumed the prosecutor had seen the light and dropped it. Unknown the Weaver, the date had been changed, but Weaver was never informed. When he didn’t show up for the new date, the BATF obtained a warrant and began surveillance. Weaver’s son and a friend went out with a dog and the dog barked at the agents. The agents shot the dog to silence it. Weaver’s son and friend thought they were being shot at and returned fire while retreating. Agents then shot the son.
Later, when Weaver went to retrieve his son’s body, the agents opened fire on him, wounding him and killing his wife as she held the door for him.
So, 2 innocents dead over a $200 ticket.
The BATF’s response?
Let’s raid some religious kooks with a TV crew so we’ll look good again.
NO ONE received a warrant before the shooting started.
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Randy weaver met the undercover agent at an Aryan Nations meeting, not just a random encounter to set him up.
He knew selling sawed off long guns was illegal, but the gang he associated with were customers.
That being said, it was a botched operation that branched out from an under cover operation of a notorious, violent terrorist gang.
An agent was shot a killed also at Ruby Ridge. In addition, the court was quite sympathetic to Weaver and his daughters each got a million in compensation.
So the truth is quite mixed. An unlicensed dealer selling sawed off shotguns, which are only good for killing people, to a violent terrorist group does present some problems.
Here is the difference between our country and autocratic ones. Yes, we have miscreants and and an awkward, often unjust system. Yet, we know what happened. It was all out in the open, no one was sent to Siberia, and compensation was arranged. Newspapers, the hated MSM, made a huge splash which helped keep it in the spotlight. Same with Waco. The press was unrelenting. The same with that famous photo of an armed soldier finding the Cuban child in the closet.
Without all the ensuing publicity that the real MSM provides, all this would just be hidden and ignored.
So criticize the BATF for their actions, but without the hated media it would be “Randy who?”.
Just a reminder to keep bitching, but don’t lose track of what we have that most countries don’t.
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He sold ONE shotgun to an undercover agent, at his specific request, and only after the gun was rendered unsaleable to anyone else.
It was the most clear case of entrapment I have ever heard of, and that’s why the judge and courts were generous with Weaver.
And the Branch Davidians were raided based on charge of child abuse, which is not the business of the BATF, which had already been investigated by the Texas Dept of Child Protection, again, as a PR move.
In both cases, BATF screwed thing sup then turned it over to the FBI to do the dirty work.
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Why did he sell the sawed off shotgun?
He met the undercover cop at an Aryan Nation meeting.
My comment gave some due to an overreaction. But the Aryan nation is worse than your favs, Proud Boys and Oathkeepers. MS-13 might be a better comparison.
To me, and most Americans, keeping an eye on such scum is pretty important.
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I pointed out that Weaver was not a sympathetic target, nonetheless, Weaver’s version of the shotgun sale was admitted to by the ATF agent at trial.
A government law enforcement agency that does that kind of thing scares me a lot more than a bunch of violent nut case Nazi wannabes.
Remember, this was over a $200 fine offense and possible loss of his FFL, not a terrorist plot.
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“The Branch Davidian raid was an attempt to refurbish their PR after the Ruby Ridge screwup.”
Baloney.
Whatever happened at Ruby Ridge has nothing to do with Koresh failing to comply with lawful warrants. And, you still have not answered the question.
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What lawful warrants?
The only reason they knew the Feds were coming is that their mailman warned them of a lot of people in battle dress in town.
Koresh met the raid at the front door, unarmed, but when one of the agents went in a window on the 2nd floor women’s quarters and either shot someone he saw armed or was shot by that someone. Koresh was then shot and wounded as he backed into the house as shooting broke out in general.
The agents who were surveilling the house tried to stop the raid, saying that Koresh could easily be picked up on his morning jog. The raid was an unnecessary PR stunt, complete with a camera crew.
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What lawful warrants?
The ones they tried to serve when they were met by gunfire killing 4 officers.
Your alternate history of glorious gun nut deaths is laughable. Here is the actual history as prepared by the Special Counsel Republican Senator John Danforth after the tragedy.
“Responsibility for the tragedy of Waco rests with certain of the Branch Davidians and their
leader, David Koresh, who:
(a) shot and killed four ATF agents on February 28, 1993, and wounded 20 others;
(b) refused to exit the complex peacefully during the 51-day standoff that followed the ATF
raid despite extensive efforts and concessions by negotiators for the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (“FBI”);
(c) directed gunfire at FBI agents who were inserting tear gas into the complex on April 19,
1993;
(d) spread fuel throughout the main structure of the complex and ignited it in at least three
places causing the fire which resulted in the deaths of those Branch Davidians not killed
by their own gunfire; and
(e) killed some of their own people by gunfire, including at least five children.”
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The government investigated itself and found itself pure as the driven snow.
The BATF agents assigned to the case tried to stop the raid.
What were the firearms violations the BATF had probable cause for before the raid?
None.
Of course, with an apocalyptic cult, once their messiah was shot it was going to go to hell.
Then, after it was sure to be a bloodbath, the BATF handed it off to the FBI, just like at Ruby Ridge.
But that such behavior by Federal law enforcement is OK with you says a great deal.
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“He sold ONE shotgun . . .”
That was ONE too many. Or does the law not apply to real Americans?
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“Federal and Blue State law enforcement currently have very little credibility”
Among boneheads easily fooled by lying liars. The rest of the country? Not so much.
There is no reason for Trump to be treated more leniently than any other criminal suspect. And his threats and incitements make that doubly true.
“We do not negotiate with terrorists” – R. Reagan
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I’m inviting Napoleon over Tuesday for popcorn and beer,
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“I’m inviting Napoleon over Tuesday for popcorn and beer . . .”
I suppose you are saying that indicting the criminal Trump will be a political mistake? You may well be correct, though I doubt it. But whether it is or it isn’t, I will stick with the “pious cliché” that no one is above the law.
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Again, the right wing threatens violence. Is that all you think about?
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They obviously cannot win in the “marketplace of ideas” so what else have they got? Get out the vote? Nah. Too much work.
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“Get out the vote? Nah. Too much work.”
Because they are spending too much time and resources on SUPRESSING votes. OR gerrymandering distracts to dilute the votes.
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