Trump’s Call Deserves Prison, Not the Presidency

Pressing an election official to “find votes.” Is there anything worse?

The charges against Donald Trump are mounting. And he continues to climb in the polls. He is successfully convincing a growing number of Republicans that the Justice Department is being weaponized to block his path.

Trump’s poll numbers are climbing as well because, with his legal troubles, he is taking up all the space, leaving neither light nor oxygen for his rivals.

Even the debate between the candidates for the Republican nomination becomes a news item. Trump doesn’t show up. He turns himself in to the court the following day and bingo! Everyone is talking about him, again.

Talk about it in good terms or bad, if Trump is all everyone is talking about, the other candidates remain in limbo.

But can Trump really run for the presidency of the United States? Without lessening the gravity of the other cases, the Georgia charges to which he surrendered at the Fulton County Jail yesterday are in a class by itself.

Trump and his acolytes are accused of conspiring to overturn election results that reflected the will of the people. In a democracy, it is cheating at the highest level.

An Affront

In the case of Trump himself, what he did was simply astounding. He asked the secretary of state, who is in charge of administering elections, to find him votes.

The call was recorded and its content unequivocal. Trump used his authority to press a high-level election official to commit a serious criminal act. There is no ambiguity, no real interpretation possible.

“All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have…” Trump said.

This is a serious crime that must be punishable by prison. It is above all a criminal act that must automatically disqualify its perpetrator from holding any other elective office.*

Unimaginable

Imagine a similar situation here in Canada. Justin Trudeau being recorded while asking the chief election officer to “find votes.” In fact, to “find” the number of votes necessary to tilt the results of an election.

Automatic resignation, end of career, condemnation in the courts — the punishment would be severe for such an affront to democracy. And that’s a good thing.

It is now known that Trump’s phone call was part of a larger scheme to overturn the results of the presidential election. With the results already close, flipping Georgia would have constituted a key step in Trump’s strategy to hang on to the White House despite losing the vote count.

Trump’s acolytes also face charges.

This is a test for justice and democracy in America. If the man who committed the act in question ends up in the White House, and not in prison, we will all have reason to worry.

*Editor’s note: Donald Trump has been indicted in Georgia on charges related to alleged interference with election results in that state. He faces trial on these charges and has not yet been convicted of a crime.