The recent trial of Donald Trump did a disservice to our legal and political system.
We always distinguished ourselves from dictatorships and banana republics by relying on impartial courts and fair elections.
The judge was specifically selected, not picked at random, and had earmarked his political donations “to resist Donald Trump’s radical right-wing legacy.”
His daughter is a Democratic party operative.
He should have recused himself or been replaced for bias.
Matthew Colangelo, formerly a paid political consultant for the Democratic National Committee, was added by the Biden Justice Department to the prosecution team.
The underlying transaction, paying off a stripper to keep quiet, while perhaps distasteful, is perfectly legal.
Classifying payments made through a law firm as legal services is common practice.
It is exactly what Hilary Clinton did with the payments for the now known as bogus Steele dossier.
She was not criminally prosecuted.
Whether you like Donald Trump or not, you should remember what Sir Thomas More said in the play, “A Man for All Seasons,” when it was proposed to cut down all the laws to get after the devil: “And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ‘round on you, where would you hide?”
Do we really want elections to be determined by politically motivated, trumped-up charges ruled on by kangaroo courts, to keep opposition candidates from running or taking office?
Or by the ballot box?
What bites a Republican candidate today can bite a Democrat tomorrow.
Kaj Ahlburg
Port Angeles