RELEASE: Federal Arraignment of Trump Reinforces Important Principle: No One Is Above the Law
WASHINGTON, DC – In anticipation of tomorrow’s arraignment of Donald J. Trump in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on 37 felony counts, including willful retention of classified documents and conspiracy to obstruct justice, CAC issued the following reactions.
CAC President Elizabeth Wydra stated:
Tomorrow will be a somber day. The United States is prosecuting a former chief executive for breaking laws he swore an oath to uphold. But what is historic and extraordinary about this moment should not distract us from what is ordinary—what we are seeing is our justice system as it is meant to work. A prosecutor carefully presented evidence before a grand jury of randomly selected citizens who represent a cross-section of their Florida community. After considering the facts and the law, that grand jury decided that the evidence justifies an indictment. As even former Trump Administration Attorney General Bill Barr has conceded about the allegations in the indictment, “if even half of it is true, then he’s toast.” Now we must allow the legal process to play out. The laws that bind all other Americans must also bind Donald Trump.
CAC Vice President Praveen Fernandes continued:
The charges here could not be more serious. The documents referenced in the indictment involve sensitive information relating to national security, including information relating to ‘potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack.’ The gravity of these charges should be matched by the gravity with which we all approach the proceedings. Former prosecutors have described the prosecution’s case as strong. Now the justice system must be allowed to function, following the facts and the law wherever they lead. Central to the rule of law in this nation is the principle that no one—not even a former president—is above the law.
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Constitutional Accountability Center is a nonpartisan think tank and public interest law firm dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text, history, and values. Visit CAC’s website at www.theusconstitution.org.
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