To the editor:
Regarding “Trump indicted(front page, March 31):
The well-deserved, long overdue and anticipated indictment of former President Donald Trump by a grand jury in Manhattan, favored by a majority of Americansis nevertheless a shocking event in the country’s history that will almost certainly already fester deep wounds in our politics.
This could be just the first salvo in what could be a string of indictments that all but guarantee the former president’s presence on the national scene for a long time to come.
Mr. Trump’s early announcement of a third presidential run was clearly calculated and timed to politicize the indictment he knew was coming. With the support of loyalists, he has vigorously challenged the legitimacy of a duly elected prosecutor and grand jury.
In our justice system, the actions of Donald Trump are far too egregious to ignore. But in a highly polarized country, we may be forced to pay a high price for upholding the tenets of our democracy.
Roger Hirschberg
South Burlington, Vt.
To the editor:
Your March 31 editorial, “Even a president must be held accountableis correct when he says that former president or not, Donald Trump is not above the law. But when looking at the various streams of possible indictments, electoral rigging and inciting riot loom large and powerful, making the Manhattan indictment on charges of paying off a former porn actress seem petty and frivolous.
It seems that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, in his rush to be first, gave Trump supporters a rallying cry. He would do better to focus on violent crime in his borough, just like the people of Manhattan, and the country would be better served if Mr. Trump stood trial for the damage he has done to this country, unlike to the shame that he his wife.
David Saber
New York
To the editor:
Your editorial rightly urges that Donald Trump be held accountable for a host of crimes, including this first prosecution in New York. But the headline mis-emphasizes it by wording it in the online version: “Even Donald Trump must be held accountable.” no it is mainly Donald Trump to be held accountable after decades of lawless behavior and disregard for our justice system.
Mr. Trump has grossly undermined our democracy, divided the country with cynical lies, and incited nationwide violence by far-right extremists who use his rhetoric as their rallying cry.
And now, predictably but disgustingly, we hear the chorus of venomous lies and hyperpartisan attacks by morally bankrupt Republican politicians who previously swore they were committed to law and order.
If a malignant narcissist can continue this way with impunity, then our rule of law has become meaningless. It has already been thrown in the gutter in Republican circles.
TR Jahns
Hemet, California
To the editor:
For years, Democrats and the liberal media have hypocritically positioned themselves as champions and defenders of American democracy and its cherished norms, traditions, and institutions. But District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s push for an indictment against Donald Trump reveals that the Democrats are more of a violator of these things than a defender.
Make no mistake about it. Mr. Bragg’s grotesque perversion of justice, designed to bring a political enemy to its knees, has plunged America into one of its darkest days. Indeed, this politically motivated stunt orchestrated by the left is just the latest evidence that the greatest threats to our democracy and our cherished norms and institutions come not from the rise of Donald Trump, but rather from the response to it.
Michael J. DiStefano
Jamestown, R.I
To the editor:
By working diligently to bring the grand jury indictment of Donald Trump, the former husband, and showing that in our once great United States, no one is above the law, Alvin Bragg is truly making America great again.
Thank you Mr. Bragg.
Daniel Fink
Beverly Hills, California.
To the editor:
Regarding “A nation is on a path that has never been traveled(news analysis, front page, March 31):
Peter Baker writes that Donald Trump’s impeachment will test our democracy in ways never seen before. Maybe, but almost everything Mr Trump did it in office – of to deter Muslim travellers in his first days in office to inciting an insurrection in the final days of his term — tested our democracy in ways we could never have imagined.
Republicans who for years trampled him on democratic norms and constitutional boundaries are now expressing outrage that he is being held accountable for the rule of law and claiming that this very responsibility will actually harm our country.
They have it completely retarded: accountability is what will restore our democracy. This criminal charge—as minor as this particular crime may seem in the context of Mr. Trump’s other misconduct—is a start.
Pamela J. Griffith
Brooklyn
To the editor:
I am proud that Alvin Bragg has done what no one else has done, and I await charges for trying to overturn our election.
It sickens me to think of all the time we have spent as a nation and personally because of this man’s behavior. I can’t count the times I called or marched a Senator or Representative, or my husband and I had conversation after conversation about Donald Trump.
Why didn’t people act when the first domino fell? Why didn’t the good Republicans speak up? So much wasted time and money because of him, but I await his merit, as well as that of the people who helped him.
Carol Coffman Brock
Ann Arbor, Mich.
To the editor:
It is not democracy when the party in power, shielded by sympathetic media outlets, brutally goes after its political opponents and now tries to eliminate its greatest threat: former president, Donald Trump.
The case before us is not a matter of prosecution; it is a political persecution.
Antonia Tamlin
Bronx
To the editor:
I thought I’d wake up this morning with elation that Donald Trump is finally being impeached something. Instead, I am filled with the same sense of unease I felt every day of his presidency.
Republican approval is sure to escalate, the right-wing squawk box will get louder and louder, threats (and acts) of violence are almost guaranteed, and this man may yet again escape the long arm of the law. What will happen if he is found guilty of the charges brought against him in this or other cases? Prison time? The spectacle that inevitably awaits us fills me with dread.
Donald Trump is a coward and likes to have his followers fight for him. He will incite them, and who knows what will happen?
Close the shutters, America. We’re in for (more of) a rough ride!
Jane Caroline
Stamford, Conn.
To the editor:
Wouldn’t it be nice if former President Donald Trump urged his supporters not to participate in mass demonstrations of support, gatherings that could turn violent? Wouldn’t it be nice if Mr. Trump just told his supporters that he is innocent, and that he can fight his own battle, and that he can defend himself with the help of his lawyers?
Maybe he could just urge them to pray for him. Wouldn’t it be nice?
Michael Kaplan
Princeton, New Jersey
To the editor:
Donald Trump always demands that the American people take back their nation. We did that on Thursday.
Robert S. Carroll
Staten Island