The Indictment of a former President of the United States of America.
Should the nation be celebrating this first? Only if We The People believe in the constitutional principles of U.S. justice; as in ‘no one is above the law’.
~
Asked and Answered
~
“The criminal evidence unsealed in the indictment shows in painstaking detail that he acted as if he is above the law, while willfully and recklessly endangering our national security.” Rahna Epting, executive director MoveOn Political Action.
~
Special Counsel Jack Smith:
“Today an indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.
“This indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged.
“Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk.”
“We have one set of laws in this country and they apply to everyone. It’s very important for me to note that the defendants in this case must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. To that end, my office will seek a speedy trial in this matter, consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused.”
Watch Smith video here:
~
Norman Eisen – Brookings Institution senior fellow in governance studies:
“The classified documents Trump stored in his boxes included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack; and plans for possible retaliation in response to foreign attack. The unauthorized disclosure of these classified documents could put at risk the national security of the United States, foreign relations, the safety of the United States military, and human sources and the continued viability of sensitive intelligence collection methods.”
~
Noah Bookbinder, head of watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW):
This is consistent with what we expected and what had been previously reported, but the details make Donald Trump’s alleged conduct even worse than we knew.”
“The national security importance of the documents at issue is striking: Documents about American and foreign nuclear capabilities and military vulnerabilities, as well as about plans for possible military action. The damage if this information was compromised is not trivial.”
“That Trump allegedly on two occasions showed highly classified documents to and discussed them with civilians with no security clearance is just shocking. It violates the most basic understanding of how classified information works.”
Complete 38-count indictment here (pdf):
