MARCH 31, 2023 – Today, Lindsey Graham called the indictment of Duly Defeated “the most irresponsible act by a prosecutor in the history of the country.” Currently, 9,832 people serve as prosecutors in the United States, which has been formally constituted for 234 years. Against the backdrop of those numbers, “most irresponsible . . . in [our] history” is hyperbole.
But we live in the Age of Hyperbole, to which the masters of superlative are well-suited. Nearly all elected Republican officials, desperate to remain in the good graces of Duly Defeated to avoid being shunned by “the base,” adopt his special penchant for hyperbole.
I’m not nearly as interested in yesterday’s grand jury indictment of the former president as I am disturbed by the lock-step Republican condemnation of the indictment. First, none of the Republicans—none—has yet seen the indictment, which remains under seal. More important, however, in America an indictment is only the beginning of a long process during which the accused is constitutionally guaranteed many rights and benefits, the most critical being (a) a presumption of innocence; (b) the burden of proof—beyond a reasonable doubt—residing with the state; and (c) the “trier of fact” being not a judge but an impartial jury of citizens, questioned by both prosecution and defense, with the right of either side to object for cause, as well as “pre-emptively,” that is, willy-nilly (generally two, but varying among jurisdictions). Moreover, a convicted defendant is entitled to appeal based on trial court departures from stringent rules of evidence and procedure. Finally, court proceedings are accessible to the public and therefore, transparent.
This methodical system, weighted overwhelmingly in favor of the accused, is the centerpiece of “the rule of law.”
Contrast this system with what we see—or rather, what little we are allowed to see—in the case of Evan Gershkovich in Russia. There, the American journalist’s arrest is tantamount to an indictment, arraignment, conviction and sentencing. Whatever sham process that follows the arrest is pure show. Absent is any semblance of due process, because in an authoritarian state like Putin’s Russia, the rule of law isn’t observed.
Back in the USA, however, it seems that every Republican who’s condemned yesterday’s indictment of Duly Defeated is living in Russia. The hyperbolic reaction of Senator Graham, shared by nearly all other spokespeople for the Republican Party, ignores that under the rule of law, an indictment is the start, not the finish, of a footrace that by design is uphill for the state and downhill for the accused. Duly Defeated is no different from any other accused under our rule of law, and therefore, is guaranteed the same rights and benefits.
If members of the grand jury exercised horrible evidentiary judgment leading up to their vote; if Alvin Bragg applied equally awful judgment in framing the legal issues and presenting the evidence to the grand jury, Duly Defeated will have his days in court; will have ample opportunity to achieve vindication.
Though a central hallmark of American freedom and liberty is the rule of law, it appears from hyperbolic condemnation of yesterday’s indictment that nearly all members of the Republican Party are ignorant or dismissive of the rule of law. They put the country on dangerous ground. We saw how they undermined faith in the electoral process after the 2020 election and stoked the violence on January 6. They now risk undermining faith in the rule of law by condemning the indictment before it’s been unsealed; before a motion to dismiss has been made, briefed, heard, and decided; before a jury renders a verdict.
Now more than ever, we need to understand and support, not torch, our principles.
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© 2023 by Eric Nilsson
