On Friday, the International Criminal Court indited and issued an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, for war crimes. Today, it was reported that the Manhattan DA is coordinating with other law enforcement agencies on the imminent arrest and indictment of Donald Trump, as early as next week. Never one to pass by a dumpster, without lighting it on fire, Trump poured gasoline on this story by crying foul that he should be held accountable for his crimes, “THE FAR & AWAY LEADING REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE & FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, WILL BE ARRESTED ON TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. PROTEST, TAKE OUR NATION BACK!”
He has been leaning heavily on his caps lock for some time now. In both Putin’s and Trump’s cases, an indictment is a long way from a conviction. For Putin who is already a world pariah, the ICC arrest warrant little limits his freedom. For Trump, who has evaded accountability all his life, news alone of this impending indictment should not alarm him as much as it seems to be doing. Except that this indictment is not a singular event. It is simply the first among a raft of other legal woes that are now bearing down upon him. Already Trump’s lawyers are playing off one competing legal proceeding against another with the scheduling conflicts of their respective court dates. Still, NYC DA Alvin Bragg is the first one through this seemingly impenetrable barrier on the road to justice. As the first one through the wall, Bragg is likely to get bloodied. He may fail, but others will pick up his fallen standard and eventually Donald Trump will face justice for at least some of his many misdeeds.
The motto atop the lintel of the New York County Courthouse, where Bragg is slated to litigate the former president, states, “The True Administration of Justice is the Firmest Pillar of Good Government.” In the same message that he tips off his impending indictment, Trump challenges this motto with another call to protest that echoes the call he made before the Capitol riot that he fomented on 1/6. It is fitting that at least here in Missouri, Tuesday is also Election Day, because in this country all political power ultimately stems from the will of the people. Here the people being the majority, not some wingnut minority.