The appearance of partiality

Life would be simpler if principles or goals never conflicted, but they often do. Then we have to decide which principle takes precedence in the particular situation we find ourselves in.

An important principle for a free society is that no one should be above the law. There is, however, a sometimes conflicting principle that the law should never be harnessed to pursue political goals. This is why the Constitution has a provision (Article I section 6) that says “[Senators and Representatives] shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.” This provision is there to prevent anyone from fabricating charges against a serving congressman and getting him arrested to keep him from fulfilling his responsibilities. Part of this was probably informed by the founders’ familiarity with history: one of the factors leading to the Roman Republic collapsing and being replaced by an empire was the use of criminal law to pursue officials’ political enemies.

As an example of how this should be applied, even though I think she was clearly guilty and deserved to be tried and punished for how she handled her emails, I believed it was best that Hillary Clinton wasn’t charged during the 2016 election. At that point, it was best for the voters to render their judgement. It was also good that, even though during the campaign he led his rallies in chanting “Lock her up!”, once elected Trump didn’t follow through by having the DoJ pursue any charges.

Which brings us to the current spate of legal actions against Trump. At this point, they should all be tossed out so we can just let the voters decide. The fact that it’s unlikely any of them would have been brought other than as part of a partisan vendetta only strengthens that position.