Quote Originally Posted by Montmorency View Post
...But giving Trump his metaphorical day in court is indispensable for the health and sanity of the country. For the sake of the truth. It's non-negotiable, and were the future DOJ, or any succeeding administration or Congress to discard the process in the name of "healing the country", they would do so at the risk of disgracing themselves....
I vividly recall Nixon being ousted in August of 1974 and the drumbeat for his arrest and trial that was bouncing around. Ford's pardon of Nixon was done for the "health and sanity of the country" and it was the correct choice in my opinion. Ford paid the price for his decision, since it did cost him votes in close states that might have turned the electoral college around in 1976. I've always respected him for that choice -- he was not a fool and knew that it would be an albatross in an already tough election context for the Republicans.


The long, drawn-out trial of a recent ex-president is almost superfluous as a punishment for the individual (the public repudiation of their reputation from a resignation is a significant punishment of its own). It smacks of vindictiveness. If anything, such a trial would only serve to shame and belittle people who voted in good faith to support that president. I would assert that that is not a sound move for the mental or political health of a country.