“What a triumph for our enemies . . . to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves.”—George Washington

Embed from Getty Images

What or who are these people pledging their allegiance to?

Amendment V — “No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury . . .”

– Donald Trump was indicted by a New York Grand Jury investigating the circumstances surrounding a “hush money” payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels in 2016.

– Donald Trump was indicted by a Washington, DC Grand Jury for interfering with “the peaceful transfer of power” after losing the 2020 election.

– Donald Trump was indicted by a Georgia Grand Jury on charges of election fraud, racketeering and other counts related to alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

– A 44-page indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida alleges that Donald Trump “endeavored to obstruct the FBI and Grand Jury investigations and conceal retention of classified documents”:

• 31 counts of willful retention of national defense information.
• 1 count of conspiracy to obstruct justice.
• 1 count of withholding a document or record.
• 1 count of corruptly concealing a document or record.
• 1 count of concealing a document in a federal investigation.
• 1 count of scheme to conceal.
• and 1 count of making false statements and representations.

Donald Trump’s reply: “The Marxist left is once again using the same corrupt [Department of Justice] and the same corrupt FBI, and the attorney general and the local district attorneys to interfere … They’re cheating. They’re crooked. They’re corrupt. These criminals cannot be rewarded. They must be defeated. You have to defeat them.”

What is a Grand Jury?

A jury comprised of 23 citizens who determine if there is sufficient evidence to charge (bring an indictment against) a defendant with a crime.

For the benefit of those who may have missed it, let me repeat three key words: “comprised of citizens.”

They are a cross-section of ordinary citizens located in a city and state where an alleged crime occurred. They come from a variety of ethnicities, religions, socioeconomic, and political persuasions. They must be a US citizen over the age of 18 and live within the court’s judicial district for at least one year. They must be able to speak and understand English in order to complete a court’s questionnaire and have no felony charges or convictions on their records.

And here’s the most important part: Juries made up of ordinary citizens determine if there is enough evidence to charge a defendant, not prosecutors, not the Justice department or any other legal body.

As much as Donald Trump likes to lie, it doesn’t change the truth.

However, that’s not the worst part.

When asked in the first Republican debate if they will support Trump if he becomes the party’s nominee, former UN ambassador Nikki Haley, Senator Tim Scott, Vivek Ramaswamy, Governor Doug Burgum, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence raised their hands, saying they would support Trump as the party’s nominee – even if he was convicted. 

And these people are running for President?

The only candidate who continues to publicly call out Donald Trump is Chris Christie, who sadly, is running last in polls.

“Someone’s got to stop normalizing this conduct. Whether or not you believe that the criminal charges are right or wrong, the conduct is beneath the office of President of the United States.”

Met with cheers and boos, Christie responded, “That’s the great thing about this country, booing is allowed — but it doesn’t change the truth.”