The OLD Philosopher – John M. Miller
“The wheels of justice grind slowly.” That aphorism has long been used to describe the American legal system. It implies that justice may take time, but it will eventually be administered in a far and equitable manner.
That notion is currently being severely tested by the Trump administration. Congress has subpoenaed many witnesses to appear before various House or Senate committees, but the President and the Justice Department have tried to suppress those appearances. In so doing, numerous allegations of impropriety have not yet been heard in a legal setting.
Ultimately various federal courts or the Supreme Court itself will have to decide if the subpoenas are valid, and if individuals will be required to testify. As has been pointed out by many media commentators and disgruntled Democrats, that may take many months to adjudicate. The wheels of justice do indeed grind slowly.
But what if the President is successful in stalling the process until well into the Republican presidential primary season in the spring and early summer of 2020? Or what if he manages to delay a definitive court decision until after the national election on Nov. 3, 2020? In that event, will he likely be re-elected?
Every current Republican U.S. Senator and Representative has a major electoral dilemma. They all know that if they believe the President has obstructed justice in many of the actions he took before and after the 2016 election, and they voice that suspicion, they may lose their own elections in 2020. The Trump base is still so committed to the President that in a primary they may be capable of defeating any Republican who opposes Mr. Trump. That is why GOP Members of Congress are so reluctant even to hint they think the President may have acted illegally or should be removed.
If Mitch McConnell and Lindsay Graham are able to assure that the “case is closed,” and all further hearings shall be negated, the legal case against Donald Trump will in fact be closed. Should that occur, justice stalled will be definitely become justice thwarted. True justice is impossible without these allegations being adjudicated by Congress or in the court system. If there are no trials, there can be no legal decisions. Impeachment may become the only way to get at the truth, but the Senate will refuse to convict Trump.
On the other hand, judges or Supreme Court justices may decree that those who have been subpoenaed must testify. Then, for the remainder of 2019 and into early 2020, testimony may reveal that the President has systematically obstructed justice for the past three years or so, as has so frequently been alleged. Should such findings become public by next spring, the Republican Party will be faced with a huge dilemma. Can they continue to support a President who has been judged frequently to have broken the law?
Nonetheless, the Democrats also have a dilemma. Who of their 23 (!) presidential candidates is most likely to defeat Donald Trump in 2020? But if the President succeeds in stalling justice regarding his own behavior, those candidates had better focus on how they personally will be the most effective candidate in addressing and solving the many issues facing the American people, quite apart from the President’s suspicious shenanigans. Only to oppose a president judged guilty of nothing accomplishes nothing.
The next year will probably be more unsettling than the last three years. So hang on tightly; no one can know for certain what will happen.
John Miller is Pastor of The Chapel Without Walls on Hilton Head Island, SC. More of his writings may be viewed at www.chapelwithoutwalls.org.