John —

I wanted to share some thoughts with you after a really momentous day. Never before has a President of the United States — current or former — been indicted.

There will be some who celebrate this moment. But as much as I believe that Trump has been a serial lawbreaker, I won’t be one of them.

It’s a sober moment for our democracy. And the charges against the former president, although essential to equal enforcement of the law, will nonetheless introduce another trying chapter in our history.

All too often our criminal justice system hasn’t worked fairly. All too often, those who can afford the best lawyers can put off any reckoning for their criminal conduct until justice delayed is justice denied, while others face a swift and formidable accounting. This has been all too clear in the case of Donald Trump.

Donald Trump has made a career of evading justice. He’s worked tirelessly to tie the legal system into knots in not just this case, but the other serious investigations into his handling of classified materials, his inciting an insurrection, and his pressuring election officials to overturn the election.

Saving his own skin may be the driving motivation for the former president, but the success of his efforts to evade accountability have had systemic impacts. They have weakened our institutions and bred disrespect of the law.

Ultimately, this has been a big part of Trump’s legacy — weakening our democracy, weakening the rule of law, and weakening our trust in our system.

He's used a playbook we’ve seen time and time again by other would-be despots around the world.

Ultimately, those with wealth and power must be held to account for the rule of law to truly matter. Especially if they can use that influence to tear down our faith in the justice system.

Donald Trump will finally have his day in court. And may have many more in the days and weeks to come.

And as he does, we must redouble our efforts to strengthen our democracy, rebuild trust in the rule of law, and ensure that those who hold office uphold their oath and defend the Constitution as they are sworn to do.

This is our challenge, and we must meet it.

Thanks for reading,

Adam