When Not the Same Deserves the Same Treatment

On June 8th the former President of the United States of America was indicted by a federal grand jury in Miami. This has never happened before.  Nixon was pardoned by Ford.  At the time it was politically risky but it let the country move forward.  It did leave unanswered what we should do with a president who may have broken the law and it seems to be using his former status as a defense against prosecution.

I've served on federal grand juries twice and it is a sobering experience.  We heard cases about fights on airplanes and we heard more than a few serious drug cases that were common in Miami at the time.

The current situation is without precedent.  

The indictment of a former president means that there are sufficient legal grounds to believe that he has broken the law.  How this will be resolved is to be determined at a later date.

Regular people face consequences for getting caught breaking the law all the time.  Why should a past president receive special treatment not afforded others.  He deserves his day in court.  While in office it seems clear that "his" Justice Department leaned on an understanding that a sitting president couldn't and wouldn't be charged with any crimes.

He is no longer president and his handling of classified information was criminal according to the grand jury who listened to the evidence.

The political method that  resolved  Nixon's behavior could have been used to avoid what has been a very long and winding road that has festered for almost eight years.  Nixon resigned and was pardoned, maybe this wasn't the best way, and 50 years later the issue of being above the law is being tested. 

It's clear that we are really in uncharted territory as it comes to the rule of law, democracy, and a really uncertain future as there may be other indictments related to "January 6th" and other efforts to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election.

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