DOJ’s Trump Indictment: A War on American Voters

On Tuesday, President Joe Biden’s Justice‍ Department took the‌ unprecedented ‌step of​ indicting⁤ former President Donald Trump —‌ Biden’s chief rival in ​the upcoming 2024 election — for ​repeatedly expressing his opinion that the ⁢last ⁣election was stolen, rigged, and unfair.

It’s an​ opinion millions of Americans share, and to which they are unquestionably ⁤entitled thanks to the First​ Amendment. That‍ includes Trump, who⁣ has said repeatedly (and recently) that the 2020 election was stolen. He’ll probably keep saying it until his dying day, and he has every ⁣right to do so.

The idea that​ our Justice Department ‍can indict someone, ⁢especially the ​sitting president’s main‍ political rival, over speech that’s protected by the First ⁤Amendment is simply insane. It⁢ puts us firmly into ‌banana⁢ republic territory, where tinpot dictators⁣ jail their political opponents ahead of election day to ​ensure ⁣their “reelection.”

Simply put,⁤ this indictment is nothing​ more than a declaration ‌of war against American voters ⁢and⁢ their constitutional right ​to free⁢ speech. As

Jonathan Turley

noted on Twitter, “If you ⁤take a ⁣red pen to all of the material presumptively protected by the ⁢First Amendment,‍ you can reduce much of the indictment to⁢ haiku.”

Consider ​what’s alleged, and what isn’t, ⁢by DOJ ⁣Special Counsel ⁢Jack Smith (who, let’s not‌ forget, was once‍ rebuked by ‍a unanimous Supreme Court after he tried​ to put a GOP governor in prison during the Obama administration). The charges against⁣ Trump ⁢do not include incitement to ‌violence on Jan. 6, 2021. You might⁣ be surprised⁣ to hear that⁢ after Smith’s⁢ hyperbolic press conference Tuesday, in which he went on and on ⁤about the Jan. ⁤6 Capitol riot and how horrible it was.

Instead, the charges are that Trump committed ‍conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and an​ attempt to ‍obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights. Sounds scary, but⁢ what it amounts ⁢to is the criminalization of opinions ⁣with⁤ which‌ Jack Smith ‍and the Biden⁤ Justice Department ⁢happen to disagree.

Crucially, Smith’s indictment alleges that Trump’s claims about the 2020 election were false and that he knew they were false. As evidence, Smith cites a bunch of Trump officials and federal bureaucracies ⁢that told him there was ⁤no evidence ⁣of widespread election fraud. He even cites the infamous Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and‌ Infrastructure Security Agency, which we now know, thanks to the “Twitter Files,” directly ‌interfered in the‍ 2020 election by censoring Americans by proxy.

Yet despite the likes of CISA telling him otherwise, Trump kept claiming the⁣ election was stolen, so he must have been ⁤lying. Or so goes the reasoning here.

I know, I know. You’re probably ‍thinking this can’t be ⁤real, ⁢that no one would be so stupid as to hang charges on ⁢the ⁣idea that Trump secretly believed he’d lost the election because a bunch of deep-state‌ officials told⁣ him so, but‌ lied about it in hopes ‍of⁤ pulling off a grand “conspiracy.”

But it doesn’t matter. Whether Trump knew he lost the ⁣election and lied ⁤about it⁢ is a political matter, not a legal one. ‌It’s precisely the kind of thing that can only be settled by voters, not by DOJ thugs in the Biden ⁢administration.

Think of it this way. ‍If Smith can‌ indict ‍Trump for speaking ‌out about the election, for arguing that it was stolen or rigged, then ‍rest assured the DOJ under​ Biden could indict every⁤ one ⁢of the millions of Americans who agree with Trump about 2020⁤ and ⁣have said so ‍publicly. Hell, Smith could probably⁤ indict me for writing⁤ this article (and especially this one).

Forget about Trump for a minute. This indictment sets a terrifying precedent that puts all Americans ‍at ⁤risk. ‍If the prosecution of Trump succeeds, it means the First Amendment is a dead letter in America. It means​ you’re not allowed ⁣to have opinions that contradict the Justice Department’s official narrative ⁤— and if you do, you’d better not have the ⁤temerity to run for⁢ high office.

Seen in that light, this ⁣latest indictment⁢ of Trump — who ​has now been charged with more than 75 crimes, many of them by the Biden DOJ‍ — is an exercise‍ in raw power. It’s ‌not ⁤that Democrats are playing some kind of 4D chess in hopes of⁢ ginning ⁤up ⁤support for Trump among the base to ensure he’s the ​nominee because ⁣they think they can beat him‌ in the⁣ general election.

No, they just want to put him in prison. They think Trump’s a criminal for opposing them, and they think the same⁤ thing⁢ about his supporters. The left wants to criminalize dissent.‍ They‌ don’t really ‌think you should get a vote, much less an opinion. That’s what this indictment‍ is about. If you think​ this​ is bad, just wait.