By Daniel Nardini
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that former U.S. President Donald Trump can be on all of the ballots in all 50 states for the 2024 presidential election. Their reasoning is that because ballot placement is in the realm of the federal system, no state can strike a candidate off. The weird part of the U.S. Supreme Court’s logic is that in the case of the abortion issue, they ruled in favor of states’ rights over the federal government. The so-called justices seem to be inconsistent. But I will not bother with this issue. Even as the Trump followers and the Republican Party celebrates this “win,” I must point out that Trump has at least two state court cases against him and two federal ones. He is the only former president in U.S. history to be so indicted on 91 counts of crimes.
I will not go into all of the cases, but with this many legal cases against him, and maybe more in not-so-distant future, I have to raise the question of a possible constitutional crisis where a former public figure is under so many indictments, is it possible for him to meet the standard of having a high moral character? He was impeached not once but twice in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the only reason why he was not completely removed from office was because he had only days to go before he left office in 2021. In my view that was a poor oversight on the part of the U.S. Senate—if he had been tried and convicted and removed then and there the whole thing about him running for the presidency again would not be coming up now. If he is convicted of any of the cases against him, he and his team of lawyers will appeal and appeal and appeal. Trump’s intention is to get back into the White House so he can claim presidential immunity and make the cases against him go away.
Except the state ones will not go away, and according to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against former U.S. President Bill Clinton in the 1990’s a sitting president has no immunity from prosecution in cases against a president before he was elected. So if Trump becomes the Republican Party nominee and if by some quirk of fate he becomes president again, then if he is convicted he might have to serve his presidency in prison or at least under house arrest. How will this work for the country? I blame both the Democratic and Republican parties for getting us to this point, although in my view the Republican Party deserves the lion’s share of the blame. For all that is wrong with current U.S. President Job Biden and possible Republican candidate Nikki Haley, at least they do not have any criminal indictments and any legal cases that could interfere with their campaigns. Trump’s case could create a dangerous constitutional crisis this country may not be ready for.
Too Many Constitutional Issues With Trump
By Daniel Nardini
I will not go into all of the cases, but with this many legal cases against him, and maybe more in not-so-distant future, I have to raise the question of a possible constitutional crisis where a former public figure is under so many indictments, is it possible for him to meet the standard of having a high moral character? He was impeached not once but twice in the U.S. House of Representatives, and the only reason why he was not completely removed from office was because he had only days to go before he left office in 2021. In my view that was a poor oversight on the part of the U.S. Senate—if he had been tried and convicted and removed then and there the whole thing about him running for the presidency again would not be coming up now. If he is convicted of any of the cases against him, he and his team of lawyers will appeal and appeal and appeal. Trump’s intention is to get back into the White House so he can claim presidential immunity and make the cases against him go away.
Except the state ones will not go away, and according to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling against former U.S. President Bill Clinton in the 1990’s a sitting president has no immunity from prosecution in cases against a president before he was elected. So if Trump becomes the Republican Party nominee and if by some quirk of fate he becomes president again, then if he is convicted he might have to serve his presidency in prison or at least under house arrest. How will this work for the country? I blame both the Democratic and Republican parties for getting us to this point, although in my view the Republican Party deserves the lion’s share of the blame. For all that is wrong with current U.S. President Job Biden and possible Republican candidate Nikki Haley, at least they do not have any criminal indictments and any legal cases that could interfere with their campaigns. Trump’s case could create a dangerous constitutional crisis this country may not be ready for.