Thread by @dcpetterson

I got this appalling response in answer to a tweet about DOJ's investigations.

Too many people think we should "just arrest" Trump--because he obviously "committed crimes", he's a Bad Man, and he deserves it.

We've forgotten what The Rule of Law is about.

1/22

The Rule of Law does NOT mean swift punishment for criminals without the bother of due process, without trials, and without grand juries. The Rule of Law is not a vigilante mob lynching, nor an iron-fisted imposition of Order by Decree of the State.

2/22

The Rule of Law constrains =government=. It is a set of procedures, norms, and rules that protect those who can be accused of crimes.

In contrast:
• Mob "justice" is mere anarchy.
• Imposed order is fascism.

YES, we need "yet another LONG investigation."

3/22

The calls to "Just arrest him already" on some non-specific "crime", or for some vague notion of "treason", or because "we all saw him" do this or that, are calls for either fascist totalitarianism or mob rule. They are destructive to democracy and the idea of civilization.

4/22

No, Trump's public statements are =not= enough to get him arrested. They may be used as evidence in a trial to help show his intent, but by themselves they are not crimes.

Even if they were enough for an "arrest", that word doesn't mean what most people think.

5/22

An "arrest" won't lock him up, shut him up, stop his fundraising, deter his cult, solve the problem of Trumpian fascism, or restrict him in any substantive way. He'd be out on bail in an hour, free to travel and speak, and it'd be months (at least) until he went to trial.

6/22

If you think an "arrest" would automagically put Trump behind bars, then you know nothing about The Rule of Law, which requires an accused person to be considered innocent until proven guilty in a court.

Because The Rule of Law constrains the State, not the accused.

7/22

To arrest someone on a felony charge requires an indictment, and to bring an indictment it's necessary to gather all the evidence that's going to be used at trial. After the indictment, prosecutors cannot continue to issue subpoenas or warrants. Because of The Rule of Law.

8/22

As soon as a suspect is arrested, the accused has the right to see all the evidence the State has gathered, in order to begin to mount a defense. Which means the State isn't allowed to gather more evidence after the indictment.

9/22

See, the State has to already be able to show it can prove the charges, or else the indictment couldn't have been issued in the first place. You can't arrest someone and then go get the evidence you need for court. You have to do the "long investigation" first.

10/22

There is such a thing as a "superseding indictment," in which the accused person is being investigated for several crimes, and is indicted on one of the lesser matters while investigations proceed on more serious charges. That would be a really bad idea in Trump's case.

11/22

First, as I already said, indicting on something lesser won't shut him up, or even impede him in any way. In fact, he'd raise money off the indictment, and his cult would go crazy and likely commit still more violence.

But there are even worse consequences.

12/22

Trump would have the right to see everything in the prosecutors' possession which is related to the charge on which he was indicted. But since all his crimes while in office were related, this would warn him about the other things DOJ is investigating him for.

13/22

It would also warn all his dozens of co-conspirators (Senators, Congresspeople, advisors, cronies, appointees, relatives, etc.) who would begin destroying evidence, fleeing the country, coordinating their stories, intimidating possible witnesses, and so on.

14/22

The alternative--arrest them ALL NOW! before the investigations are complete, before orderly indictments can be brought, before all the evidence is gathered--that way lies complete fascist authoritarianism.

If the State could do THAT, then YOU are in serious trouble.

15/22

Imagine if did away with the protections of The Rule of Law. Doomsayers already predict a Republican House and Senate this fall, and a Republican President in 2024. Imagine fascism rampant beginning 2025, with no restrictions at all.

Delete your Twitter account now.

16/22

But wait! you say. That's exactly why we have to LOCK UP TRUMP NOW! If Republicans take over, they =will= end democracy!!!

Weren't you listening?

A) Locking up Trump won't stop him or his cult.

B) If we "lock up Trump NOW!" then we've already ended democracy.

17/22

The only way to save democracy is to win elections. Abandoning The Rule of Law is a surrender to fascism, and won't stop Republican victories anyway.

The ONLY way to save democracy is to win elections.

That means YOU are the one who has to save democracy.

18/22

DOJ can't save democracy. DOJ can't stop Trumpism. Even if DOJ obeyed the bloodlust of the mobs calling for them to dO sOmEtHiNg NOW! that still wouldn't save democracy (that would, in fact, end democracy).

The only way to save democracy is to win elections.

#VoteBlue.

19/22

Yes, YOU have to do the work. There is no magic pill, no savior. If you want to get the things you want, YOU have to do the work of registering voters, getting them to the polls, and voting yourself. You have to be in this for the rest of your life.

20/22

You can't go back to not caring. Ever. YOU have to vote, you have to vote for Democrats, and you can never waste your vote on a third-party loser.

And you can never succumb to cynicism or doomerism. Vox populi vox dei; the voice of the People is the voice of God.

21/22

By the way, Trump can legally run for office even from the inside of a jail cell.

So yes, we need "yet another LONG investigation." To "just arrest him already" would be wrong, it would destroy democracy, and it wouldn't achieve anything anyway.

22/22