Pursuit of Donald Trump Takes a Dark Turn

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Those who call themselves Never Trump continue to pursue Donald Trump. According to Sunday’s previous reporting, Adam Kinzinger appeared on Meet the Press recently.

The following was a bizarre diatribe in which Republicans were accused of hypocrisy for wanting Hillary Clinton to be charged, but not Donald Trump about the handling of classified data. You can see the way the game works, even if Trump was president and had declassification power. Republicans will be expected to follow the old rules, even though they have had to change the rules to protect a Democrat.

That’s how it doesn’t work. It’s not hypocritical to want the law to be applied equally. Clinton should have been arrested, but she was not and that made things better. Trump shouldn’t be held to an “orange man poor” standard for law enforcement.

Kinzinger has a solution.

Of course, there are no precedents. We’ve never had a president of the United States attempt a coup against the United States of America. So there are no precedents. And if we need a new law, let’s get a new law. But I’m quite sure that some of the laws can cover this. The DOJ seems very convinced of it.

Kinzinger might want to look at Article I Section 9 of The Constitution of the United States. It prohibits ex post facto laws in criminal cases. Congress cannot pass a law retroactively penalizing Trump or any other person for doing something that was not illegal previously. Kinzinger was probably ignorant enough to not realize this when he made his comment. But, I don’t think that is the most important thing.

The most important thing is not that Kinzinger even has that urge. Do you think he wants the US to be a banana republic? Because that’s how the US becomes a banana republic. And even if there isn’t any legal precedent or provision to accuse Trump of whatever fantasies the January 6th committee has, the idea of creating one from thin air is completely tyrannical. History is littered with self-righteous, delusional individuals who believed they could get across lines for the “greater benefit,” and Kinzinger is no exception.

The DOJ being “very convinced” that it can bring down Trump under the existing law is a myth. I don’t see much evidence to support that. Is it possible that they will break the Hillary Clinton precedent by going after Trump on the handling of classified material? They will not be able to restore the department’s credibility if they do. This would be the most blatant and direct example of America’s two-tiered justice system. Are they really going to follow that path? We’ll see.

Kinzinger’s reference to a “coup” is another term that he seems unable to define. I am not certain if this is what Kinzinger is referring to. He is like the other members of the January 6th committee. He has been engulfed in the avalanche of praise from a media hungry to depose Trump. He did not tell people to peacefully protest, and he didn’t break any laws. He is not charged with “acting too slowly” or any other offenses that the committee suggests.

Kinzinger’s illustration isn’t only illegal and dumb, but it’s also dark. These zealots’ quest to punish a political enemy by going to dangerous places is going to cause havoc in the country.