Trump is going to court over his classified documents which presents a dilemma for the DoJ over how to deal with the former president.
Tomorrow former president Donald Trump is scheduled to appear in court after having mishandled classified documents. When the story broke that the FBI had raided Trump’s house in Florida searching for classified documents I made the case that it was a bad approach for handling Trump. The current court case is a continuation of the American legal system’s awkward handling of Trump. Obviously the fact that the former president may have committed federal crimes makes the case complex, but I still find the American justice system’s approach to Trump stilted and frequently counter-productive. In a perfect world the US wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place, but back in reality I think the Department of Justice (DoJ) need to make the legally dubious but politically savvy move. The best thing the DoJ could do now is to reach a settlement with Trump where he is let off the hook in exchange for all the classified documents he kept since leaving the White House.
Trump’s misdeeds have created a true dilemma for the DoJ. On one hand, it would be difficult politically to charge the frontrunner in the race to be the Republican party’s 2024 presidential candidate now that the race has begun in earnest. On the other hand, the DoJ can’t ignore Trump’s potential crimes as it would give a clear signal that the former president is above the law, or at least the laws concerning classified documents. Add to this the fact that Trump has been laying the groundwork for his narrative that the ‘Establishment’ is out to get him for the last eight years and it becomes quite the mess for the DoJ. In my view the clash comes down to what ideal the DoJ should value higher, that no one is above the law or that the law is politically neutral.
In a perfect world there would be no need to choose. A good legal system should be able to both treat every defendant equally and be politically neutral in all cases; but neither the current not former American president inspires confidence in me that we live in a perfect world. Given that the DoJ will have to choose, deliberately or not, I think it is more important for it to pick political neutrality. The American legal system is already mired in politicisation with how the unelected Supreme Court can grant and revoke rights with the stroke of a pen. The Supreme Court is widely seen to be leaning conservative at the moment, but having the DoJ go after a prominent conservative politician would be a misguided attempt to be balanced.
If America is to recover from the cleavages the Trump and covid years have brought it needs faith in its institutions. As I wrote last year: Trump is always on about how the 'Establishment' is out to get him, so accusations against him often become evidence of his persecution to him and his allies. Every time the DoJ makes a move against Trump it hardens Trump supporters’ belief that the system is inherently opposed to Trump and by extension the people he supports. The fact that Trump remains popular is testament to the fact that plenty of Americans really do feel like the justice system is politicised so it should be a top priority for the DoJ to refute that view. By getting to a deal with Trump where the former president avoids fines or prison the DoJ avoids alienating right wing Americans, and may even be able to start rebuilding some trust.
It's admittedly a poor solution. It would be better if there was a cleaner solution. In a perfect world there would be no need to choose as the former president would have acted with more integrity, but in this imperfect world we are faced with dilemmas where even the best options are imperfect.
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I've always been interested in politics, economics, and the interplay between. The blog is a place for me to explore different ideas and concepts relating to economics or politics, be that national or international. The goal for the blog is to make you think; to provide new perspectives.
Written by Karl Johansson
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