Alan Zendell, June 15, 2023

In the polarized world of American politics, it’s not easy to have a calm, rational discussion when the subject is Donald Trump’s behavior. His indictment on thirty-seven counts of knowingly mishandling national security information and obstructing the government’s efforts to reclaim its property has become the focal point for one of the most partisan battles in recent years. But the case is really pretty simple. No one is disputing the obvious fact that Trump committed the crimes he’s charged with or that he incorrectly believed he had the absolute right to do whatever he pleased with highly classified documents after he left the White House.

Thus, we have the fascinating spectacle of far-right extremists in the Republican Party defending Trump with arguments that completely ignore the relevant facts. Legal experts have declared with near unanimity that Trump’s oft-repeated public assertions about what he can and cannot do with documents related to national security are totally without merit. Trump himself is heard on tape discussing them with people with whom he illegally shared them, decrying the fact that as a former president he doesn’t have the right to either de-classify or possess them.

His defenders ignore the shell game Trump engaged in to hide the documents from federal law enforcement officials although a federal judge and grand jury found that there was probable cause to believe Trump and his co-defendant repeatedly lied to them. They ignore the evidence, which, by now, almost everyone has seen and heard because much of it comes from statements Trump uttered on live television. Anyone else who said those things would have been convicting himself, but Trump’s idea of a legal defense is to lie and claim he’s being politically persecuted.

The two main defenses being aired on right-wing networks are that the entire case is a political witch hunt and that there’s no evidence of harm resulting from Trump’s illegal actions. Let’s look at those arguments.

Is there bias on the part of President Biden, Attorney General Merrick Garland, and Special Prosecutor Jack Smith? Probably – they wouldn’t be human if they weren’t disgusted with Trump’s behavior over the past eight years. That question arises often in our justice system at all levels because law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, and juries are not robots. Prosecutors often have strong negative feelings about the criminals they indict, but that doesn’t invalidate the evidence they present. If people who despise Donald Trump and what he stands for dance with joy at his indictment, that in no way diminishes his guilt.

The argument that there’s no evidence that our country was damaged militarily or with respect to intelligence gathering is even more absurd. If your teenager was arrested for driving recklessly at a hundred miles an hour, would you claim they shouldn’t be held accountable because they didn’t kill anyone? Do we acquit people charged attempted murder because they failed to kill their intended victims?

I talked at length about this with someone I respect whose military and national security career spanned more than forty years. He raised an argument I hadn’t thought of, specifically that it doesn’t matter what Trump did because our system of national security and intelligence doesn’t prevent our enemies from knowing all our secrets. He believes our entire security apparatus is a sham that supports a lucrative industry that makes a lot of people rich. He has access to sources I don’t, but I have trouble with that view. Remember Edward Snowden and Julian Assange? Remember the executions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg?

I also have my own experience with national security. My work required me to hold Top Secret clearance for many years. For all that time, I was continually reminded, if not threatened outright, with all the ways the government could send me to prison for the rest of my life if I violated the same Espionage Act that Trump has run afoul of.

This is not a game, and in the real world, it’s not in the least political. People who hold such clearances take them very seriously, because aside from caring about the security of our country, their jobs and livelihoods require them to. Even if I supported Donald Trump, I would be outraged by his handling of sensitive material that could put our field operatives and our entire nation at risk, and I’m not the only one. In our divided House of Representatives, members with backgrounds in the military or national security are not speaking up to defend Trump. Some are even speaking out against him.

The charges against Trump are extremely serious. Step away from the politics and ask yourself how you would vote on his jury if he were anyone but Donald Trump. His identity should have nothing to do with his guilt or innocence.