Trump charged in the Big Lie

Donald Trump now stands accused of one of the most heinous offenses against the nation — violating his presidential oath to uphold the Constitution so he could remain in power.

Tuesday’s historic federal indictment says the former president knew he spoke lies and intentionally spread them to “create an intense national atmosphere of mistrust and anger, and erode public faith in the administration of the election.” The phrase “knowingly false” appears more than 30 times in the indictment. It makes clear Trump had a right to lie but not to act in support of those lies, as in pressuring state officials to change vote counts and assemble false slates of electors.

We are all victims of the actions leading up to and including the violent disruption of the Jan. 6, 2021 meeting of Congress to certify the electoral vote count. Our nation is now polarized and our government paralyzed by partisanship. Trump’s actions preceded the deadly violence at the U.S. Capitol as police — 140 of whom were injured — defended not only the very symbol of our democracy, but also protected Vice President Mike Pence and members of Congress performing duties essential to the peaceful transition of power.

Special counsel Jack Smith was correct to call these members of law enforcement “heroes” on Tuesday in his brief public statement reminding us, once again, that no one is above the law and, importantly, Smith must prove these allegations in court. In one sense, Trump’s indictment could be considered merely the next case in the massive Justice Department effort to hold accountable everyone responsible for what happened on Jan. 6. More than 1,000 people in Washington that day have been criminally charged, with more than 350 accused of assaulting members of law enforcement.

The president who called upon his supporters to rally to his defense on what he knew were false claims should be given the speediest of trials, because this defendant is the top contender for his party’s presidential nomination in 2024.

The scope of the indictment by a Washington grand jury is astonishing. Everyone should read it. The indictment describes how the established facts constitute criminal behavior. It alleges that Trump knew he lost the election to Joe Biden but then schemed to stay in power. Five of the six unnamed co-conspirators appear to be lawyers who advised Trump, and if Trump stays true to his past behavior, he will seek to blame them for misleading him.

The witnesses to the former president’s conspiracy include top officials in his administration, not only Pence but Trump’s White House counsel, Attorney General William Barr and several of Barr’s deputies. These were not political opponents.

Polling shows most Trump supporters don’t believe he did anything wrong and, against all facts, maintain that the 2020 election was indeed stolen. There is now an indictment with devastating evidence to the contrary. It cannot be ignored.