Attack from Within by Barbara McQuade

Author:Barbara McQuade [Mcquade Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: social media; US politics; american politics; declinism; deepfake; culture war; rule of law; stop the steal; authoritarian playbook; US Capitol; January 6; sponcon; media studies; media literacy; authoritarian government; authoritarian; misinformation; disinformation; political books; sociology; political science; propaganda; government; sociology books; political philosophy; political science books; geopolitics; history; history books; politics; world politics; international politics; work; philosophy; technology; culture
ISBN: 9781644213643
Publisher: Seven Stories Press
Published: 2023-11-17T17:30:00+00:00

“You are reportedly about to engage in an unprecedented abuse of prosecutorial authority,” the letter read, “the indictment of a former president of the United States and current declared candidate for that office.”1321 The March 2023 letter to Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg was signed by the GOP chairs of three House committees. They were responding to reports of impending charges against Donald Trump for alleged falsification of business records, shortly before the 2016 presidential election, to conceal payment of hush money to a porn star who threatened to go public with claims of an extramarital affair. Trump’s lawyer, Michael Cohen, had spent time in prison for his role in the alleged cover-up.1322 The letter came two days after Trump had posted a statement on social media stating that he expected to be arrested soon. His post called for protests to “take our nation back,” a message that echoed his calls to supporters to “Stop the Steal” on January 6, 2021.

Following Trump’s March 2023 post, law enforcement agencies across the country undertook security precautions.1323 House Judiciary Committee Chair Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH), one of the authors of the letter, called Trump’s alleged conduct a “bookkeeping error.”1324 Elise Stefanik, the GOP congresswoman from New York, called possible charges “un-American,” saying in a statement that “the radical Left has reached a dangerous new low of Third World countries. Knowing they cannot beat President Trump at the ballot box, the Radical Left will now follow the lead of Socialist dictators and reportedly arrest President Trump, the leading Republican candidate for President of the United States.”1325 The letter from the congressional committees demanded documents and testimony from Bragg’s investigation, calling his prosecution “politically motivated.” These letters and statements all came before charges even had been filed.1326 Rather than allowing the case to run its course in court, where every defendant is guaranteed due process, Trump and his backers were demanding special treatment for a former and perhaps future president. The decision of lawmakers to rally around a member of their own party was perhaps a predictable product of the polarized political climate. But their attack on the rule of law was breathtaking.

The federal judiciary defines the rule of law as “a principle under which all persons, institutions, and entities are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, independently adjudicated, and consistent with international human rights principles.”1327 It means that no one is above the law; no one gets special treatment. To suggest that a prosecutor abuses his authority simply by charging a former president, regardless of the merits of the case, violates the rule of law.

The rule of law is a fundamental pillar of democracy. Under the rule of law, process is paramount. Results of cases are determined by evenhanded application of the law and adherence to precedent, not by the identity of any party involved or preference for a particular outcome. In a pluralistic society with wildly divergent views, the one thing that Americans have traditionally agreed on is the method for deciding our disputes—by law, not by using violence or exerting political power.

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