John,
When President Trump tries to claim he’s the “law and order” president, you really have to wonder—has he read even a little of the news about the people involved with his 2016 campaign? It is clear from Trump’s own conduct, and the lawlessness of his allies, that to Trump, “law and order” is nothing more than a racist dog whistle.
Even for people like you and me, who have been following the news closely, it can be challenging to keep up with what feels like a constant stream of indictments and arrests. When you see it all in one place, it is pretty staggering:
Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia. Paul Manafort was sentenced to prison for hiding millions of dollars of income for political consulting in Ukraine. Michael Cohen was sentenced to prison for campaign finance crimes. Roger Stone was sentenced for charges including lying to Congress, witness tampering and obstruction. The first two Congressmen to endorse Trump, Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins, were sentenced for campaign finance crimes and insider trading, respectively.
And just yesterday, Steve Bannon, the 2016 Trump campaign chief executive, was indicted and taken into federal custody for defrauding donors to a private border wall.
But what makes this pattern of criminality all the more concerning is that it’s not just Trump’s allies who have committed crimes — it’s also Trump. He likely committed at least five crimes by withholding aid to Ukraine and pressuring Ukraine’s president to try to get dirt on former Vice President Biden, and up to eight campaign finance and related crimes to get elected in 2016. There’s also a strong case that if he were not a sitting president, he would have been indicted for obstruction of justice in the Mueller investigation.
The sad fact is that ordinary Americans would be facing serious prison time for the same actions that President Trump has taken. Share the message with your friends and family by forwarding this email, or sharing our Twitter thread.
That Trump’s criminal allies are being held to account is a good thing, but Trump must be held accountable, too. That’s why we are monitoring his conflicts of interest and potential criminal liabilities so closely. We will never give up on the ideal of “equal justice for all,” especially when we see the people in power abusing their power and committing such blatant corruption.
Thank you for standing with us,
Noah Bookbinder
Executive Director, CREW
