A Fateful Time in Our Nation's History
We can feel grateful for democracy and free and fair trials, while feeling sad that a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist is on the ballot for president
Small Acts of Courage
This morning I was on Ali Velshi’s MSNBC show along with fellow historian Michael Beschloss (we will be on together tomorrow 8-8:30amET on The Weekend show if you missed it). Michael opened by mentioning Small Acts of Courage, Ali’s newly published memoir set against the global fight for democracy, and he pointed out that such acts collectively create a climate conducive to defending our freedoms.
The decision of Judge Merchan to see the Trump trial through and the willingness of the jurors to serve are acts of courage. When authoritarians are on the scene or in power, doing your civic duty or just doing your job according to democratic notions of justice can be dangerous.
That is why I started my Lucid democratic heroes series, and why Judge Merchan and his peers are the latest heroes I am recognizing for carrying on and refusing to be intimidated.
No One Is Above the Law: A Press Conference to Assess the Verdict
Here is the summary statement (with embedded video) of an important press conference I took part in yesterday about the meaning of the Trump trial and its verdict for our democracy. Organized by the Not Above the Law coalition, it was attended by journalists from the New York Times, CNBC, and dozens of other media outlets.
My fellow participants were Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee; Amb (ret.). Norm Eisen, CNN legal analyst and former lead White House Ethics lawyer, CREW’s President and CEO, Noah Bookbinder; NOW National President Christian F. Nunes; author and legal commentator Tristan Snell; and Praveen Fernandes, Vice-President of the Constitutional Accountability Center.
Everyone emphasized how the conviction of Trump was a testament to the strength of US democracy and its core belief that no one is above the law. That belief shows a fundamental respect for the individual that is anathema to authoritarians.
On the Zoom I was listening and feeling so grateful for the commitment and experience of all those who gave their time to inform the press and by extension the American people of the meanings of the trial and the verdict.
Yet when we were asked by one of the journalists if we felt happy about the verdict, the answers were poignant. Noah Bookbinder, whose CREW organization is a leading force for investigating corruption, remarked that it is a moment of mixed emotions.
The guilty verdict was of course a victory for our democratic processes, but the fact we had to have this trial and all the other trials regarding Trump means we have gotten as into a bad place as a nation and our institutions have been compromised.
I thought of the Supreme Court as he said that, and it brought me back to why I wrote Strongmen, which is a study of what happens to societies and their institutions when deeply damaged and amoral individuals get to power, are supported by myriad enablers, and cheered by crowds living in the alternate realities created by years of lying.
Here are my remarks from the press conference, revised for flow:
“We are living through a massive and concerted attempt to delegitimize and discredit our democratic institutions, especially our elections and judiciary. Judges, prosecutors, and the courts are major targets, as they are wherever authoritarianism is trying to take hold.
Authoritariansm is about converting rule of law into rule by the lawless. It is about taking away the rights of the many, including the right to free and fair elections and trials, and giving the few new liberties to steal, lie, and plunder womens’ bodies, the workforce, the economy, and the environment and not be held accountable.
The chain of impunity starts with the leader. Authoritarianism is about making the strongman feel safe by making him untouchable and giving him de facto or formal immunity for his crimes.
This is what Trump wants so badly, and why admires Putin, Xi, and other leaders he endlessly praises. And in fact this trial could never have happened in any of the countries those leaders govern. In China, Russia, Turkey, North Korea, and other authoritarian states any criticism of the leader brings prison or a lawsuit or worse.
Democracies are another story. France, Israel, Peru, Italy, Brazil, and other democracies have convicted former heads of state. Some have gone into exile, others have been in prison or home confinement, or simply banned from running for office. This last is the fate of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of spreading election fraud and banned from running for office until 2030. His appeal was recently denied by the Superior Electoral Court.
And that brings up back to the courts, which in a democracy have the power to convict demagogues if they have committed crimes and thus to act indirectly as guardians of public safety and ethics and national security as well. That is why this trial is so important at this fateful moment in our nation’s history.“
As long as there's that MAGA judge in Florida and a MAGA supermajority on the Supreme Court, our democracy remains at serious risk. At crunch time, we might learn that Bush v. Gore wasn't a one-off.
We have established that no one is above New York state law. Not so sure about federal law.