The stories we will tell

By Ande Jacobson

It started on 30 March 2023 when a former president was indicted on criminal charges for the first time. Now in early August 2023, we’ve seen this happen four times so far this year. Donald J. Trump, the 45th President of the U.S. is now defendant Trump. He tried to conspire to end democracy as we know it and take away our crucial rights as citizens to vote and have our votes counted, defraud the country, steal critical classified documents when he finally, grudgingly left office, and attempt to defraud his business to pay off an accuser. He’s also been shown to be guilty of sexual abuse in a civil trial. What a guy. To hear him tell it, he’s the victim of persecution by his enemies. Of course he defines his enemies as anybody who disagrees with him, stands up to him, or challenges him in any way under any circumstance, so he clearly has a lot of enemies. Continue reading

A day for the history books: a former president has been indicted

By Ande Jacobson

30 March 2023 was a day that will loom large in our nation’s history. Given all that has transpired, it had to happen eventually, but only after extensive investigation. While we cannot know for sure, it’s likely that we’ll see more such days as the continuing investigations complete. Donald J. Trump, a former president of the United States of America, has been indicted. We don’t yet know the specific charges. Those will be unsealed in due time when he is arraigned.

In the U.S., the last 8 years have yielded many unprecedented events, some of which are undoubtedly criminal activities directed by the former president. His personal criminal past may well go back long before he entered politics, but because the investigations are ongoing, we can’t know the full content of what has been discovered surrounding those activities just yet. Now they are starting to land squarely in the courts with him as the focus of attention in criminal rather than just civil matters. This is a big change. In the case of the former president, this is all of his own making, and now he’s being held accountable, something he likely never believed could ever happen to him. While someone’s misfortune is not a cause for celebration, it’s a little hard not to view the events of 30 March 2023 with a bit of pride that we are still a nation of laws that apply to everyone, even former presidents. Continue reading