Marco Rubio warned:
"Now every state and local prosecutor in America who wants to make a name for themselves is going to go out there and say, ‘Well, who can I target?'"
That's OK with me.
How about we expect the rich and powerful to set a good example? How about we expect them to obey the law?
Republican officeholders are showing loyalty to the GOP brand by attacking the prosecution of Donald Trump. They complain that the DA is prosecuting "minor," "trivial," crimes of a former president and current candidate. They don't claim Trump didn't do the crimes. They say Trump is too politically important to prosecute. Besides, they complain these crimes are mere tax and election fraud, barely felonies. So what if he characterized hush money payments as deductible business expenses? These involved trivial amounts of money, only $130,000 to Stormy Daniels, only $450,000 passed through Michael Cohen and all he did was lie about it.
The outrage is misplaced. Trump is being prosecuted for alleged crimes, for which there is substantial evidence, as determined by a Grand Jury which looked at the documents and heard from witnesses. They heard evidence. The people cheering and boo-ing the indictment have not. If the evidence is not sufficient to convict him, the jury will acquit. Some people say it is a weak case. If so, Trump will be vindicated and the DA will be humiliated. I am an equal-opportunity supporter of law enforcement. If Joe Biden is breaking the law now, or did so in the past, I welcome investigation and prosecution the day after he leaves office, including by Republican District Attorneys.
People thinking of running for office, from city council up through Congress and the Presidency, need to clean up their acts, if they need cleaning. Think carefully about your life. If you got away with crimes in your past, and you want them kept secret, then don't run for office. Meanwhile, don't file dishonest tax returns. Don't fabricate deductions. Don't create false business records. Obey election laws, even when it is inconvenient. Don't cheat your employees, vendors, or customers. Don't do misdemeanors. Don't do felonies. Best not to cheat on your husband or wife.
It goes for family, too. If you have children cashing in on your name and office, then warn them that it looks terrible and it may destroy your political career. That goes for Hunter Biden, Donald Jr., Eric, Ivanka, son-in-law Jared, and everyone else, from presidents' families, to senators' families, down to those of local officials. Warn them that if they are in a gray area of crony business dealings, that prosecutors will examine it with a hostile eye. Warn them they may face prison, and they may drag you into prison with them.
Elon Musk flagrantly broke SEC rules regarding public communications. He laughed it off. After all, he is Elon Musk and too big to punish. The SEC let it go. They shouldn't have. Martha Stewart illegally traded on inside information, then lied about it. She was sentenced to a cushy prison with tennis courts. We coddle white collar criminals. It would have been a better lesson to her and for America if she had spent a year in a holding cell at Rikers Island. That is how we handle blue collar crime by non-celebrities.
I would prefer a new American ethic built around virtue, not fear of investigation and prosecution. I would prefer politicians be squeaky clean because they respect the law and want to set a good example. I wish voters had the same expectation, and saw the scofflaw politicians as dangerous, not heroic. There is a path to getting there: Prosecutors who hold celebrity lawbreakers to account.
Let the warnings by Rubio, Lindsay Graham and others predicting prosecutorial revenge be a heads up to politicians, movie stars, and billionaires. The laws apply to you, too.
Being curmudgeonly is in my nature. I agree with nearly everything in this post except a quibble or two, until what is the truth concerning the last sentence. Speaking of politicians, movie stars, and billionaires, "The laws apply to you too." They do, but, regrettably, their application is different depending upon who you are. Being held accountable in America centers on process, and representation expertise, not necessarily guilt. We worry about filing deadlines, Miranda warnings, admissibility of evidence, deals made in private, etc. Guilt, as they say, has little to do with it once the lawyers get involved. There is generally a large difference in resources, and often in expertise, between a white-shoe firm partner and a public defender. So, even though the initial charge may be identical between two defendants, from there on the outcome, and how it is reached, may be quite different.
In other countries the words fair, just, etc. are embodied in the governing documents. You will find no such words in ours.
Finally, Martha Stewart did do time, even if in a nicer than average prison, and she does have that conviction on her record. Plus, not all of the women in that prison were politicians, movie stars, or billionaires. I think she spent at least some of her time there helping the Hoi polloi with GEDs and other life skills.
Doubt if I’ll ever agree to anything Rubio or Graham, of all people, have to say about anything. Wasn’t Graham crying on line while asking for people to send money to trump? WTHeck Russell?