Like for many, news of the federal indictments handed down by a Florida grand jury in the stolen classified documents case involving the 45th president reached me at home. Republicans, with few exceptions, spoke with one voice, saying the Department of Justice had been weaponized to attack President Biden’s main competition in the 2024 presidential election. That’s not true, in fact it was the 45th president who attempted to weaponize DOJ when he was in office. Even the corrupt William Barr, attorney general at the time, wouldn’t go along with his president on his quest to punish his enemies. Biden? Don’t make me laugh.
Major news outlets like Gannett, The New York Times, FOX News, and others cultivate a cult of the ex-president. They do so because of the attention each inflammatory article, broadcast or post receives. Trump is bankable to news outlets so they nurture his presence. The diminished celebrity issued a vociferous denunciation of the indictments, as if the louder he spoke, the more authority his words carried. Major news outlets took the bait and gave him prominent coverage. The business of news can apparently be profitable only with bloated characters like Trump on stage.
Using a phrase learned from my basic training drill instructor, they are all pissing in the wind.
It’s the third paragraph of the indictment in United States of America v. Donald J. Trump and Waltine Nauta that bugs me. Here it is:
From military service, I am familiar with some of the intelligence collection methods mentioned. Compromising intelligence produced by covert operatives and agents could put their lives at risk, resulting in imprisonment or death. According to the indictment, Trump did that. What kind of person does that? A corrupt one with stolen, classified documents.
During my three years stationed as an infantry officer in West Germany I had access to classified materials. I remember getting a top secret clearance for a special project. My friends back in Iowa wrote letters saying they were contacted by investigators during the process. I got my clearance and participated in more than 25 military operations that used classified information. I didn’t retain a single document. When finished using classified documents, I returned them the the S-2, which is the battalion-level intelligence officer. It was important to follow the rules.
One of my buddies was fluent in German and Russian and spent time in East Berlin hanging out with Soviet forces stationed there. Most of his work was in bars and restaurants, and he filed information gleaned after each trip. It must have been pretty boring work. He told us about the volume of vodka Soviet troops drank and how it impacted their readiness. Even I collected intelligence from a French military unit in Brittany while I was stationed with them as an exchange officer. I filed my report with our S-2 and was done with it. In Cold War Europe troops seemed bored and drank alcohol and did drugs because of it. They were hardly ready for a major battle.
Native instinct tells me 45 won’t be convicted and if he is he won’t serve jail time. The rich seldom do. When I read the evidence presented in the indictment, I became unsettled. I understand why news outlets cover the story. What I can’t explain is why so many of my friends and neighbors voted for Trump in 2016 and would again if he were the Republican nominee for president in 2024.
One would think the indictment would teach us a lesson. Instead, a mythology of the corrupt has risen around Trump, accepting his illegal behavior, and impeding our ability to maintain a functioning democratic republic.
That is the bigger problem.
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