Angie Wong’s opinion (Guest Column 11/21/23) that Trump and his cohort are being targeted unfairly lacks truth and reason. The law enforcement and judicial systems are working as they should. Ordinary citizens on special grand juries and regular grand juries reviewed the evidence, mostly from Trump’s own staff, and decided to indict a number of individuals. Several cases are now ongoing, and it is the duty of the judges and juries to decide guilt, liability, or innocence. The large number might be because many laws were (allegedly) broken by many people, rather than some “witch hunt”.
That “Civil War era provision of the 14th Amendment” is a part of the Constitution preventing those who attempt to overthrow the government from holding office. The courts will decide how that should be interpreted and applied
The Adult Survivors Act involved in Caroll vs. Trump was passed unanimously in the New York Senate and by a 140-3 vote in the House, hardly partisan. It was passed to bring statutes of limitations in line with more recent laws, and has been used in 2,500 suits.
Jeffry Clark’s guilt or innocence for his indictment will be determined by the courts. Asking for a recount in a close election is not a crime, and such recounts are routinely done; many were conducted at Trump’s request. Trump’s challenges were considered in over 60 courts. “Why shouldn’t a political candidate investigate if smoke meant fire?” It seems that it was the political candidate blowing the smoke while claiming fire, and some of that might have violated the law. Al Gore accepted the findings of the courts.
This information is readily available from Wikipedia, so I assume Wong’s claims were either deliberately or negligently false. From a columnist and from a publisher, this is irresponsible. Opinions based on falsehoods and poor reasoning, when widely spread, can be harmful and dangerous. That is what this is all about.
Roger Niesen
Crescent City