Many of us cheered when we learned that Attorney General Merrick Garland named a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigation of Donald Trump. His crime, snatching classified documents and piling them up at Mar-a-Lago, was horrific considering the damage this trove could have meant for enemies of our country.
And we were further heartened with the news that Trump might be found culpable for inciting Jan. 6 rioters and placing the lives of members of Congress in jeopardy. Perhaps prosecutor Jack Smith would succeed in this inquiry where other efforts haven't yet brought Trump down.
To me, though, these probes are paltry, akin to indicting John Wilkes Booth with causing a ruckus at the Ford Theatre, rather than for the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Perhaps Mr. Smith can broaden his investigation into the Trump presidency and the deaths of innocents to the docket. Let's start with the number of Covid-related deaths during his term. Shouldn't Trump deserve jail time for his backhanded role?
Who can forget the ridiculous White House briefings with Donald Trump attempting to shine his administration's actions on Covid? We sympathize with Anthony Faucci who appeared more like a hostage than an expert trying to bring us scientific facts.
"It will disappear," Trump had promised, "Totally under control."
Optimistic that he had found a cure, Trump used Twitter and Fox News to promote hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine. Even worse, his Republican sycophants discouraged mask wearing, and like toadies to a mob boss, buried scientific facts in a landfill.
Can't we charge Trump with the murder of at least some of the 400,000 Americans who died of Covic during his years in ofice?
Covid deaths aren't the only crime I pin on our former president. The murder of innocent Black people killed by law enforcement should be added to Trump's crimes. While police annually kill more white people in this country than Black Americans, Black Americans are killed at a far higher rate.
A study published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2018 found that African Americans are 3.5 times as likely to be killed by police compared white people.
Asian hate crimes increased during Trump's presidency. Consider his emphasis on and pronunciation of China. Didn't that put a target on the back of Asian Americans?
The Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino confirmed that anti-Asian hate crimes in 16 of the largest U.S. cities increased 145 percent in 2020.
Jews also were victims of additional crimes. With Trump in office, the Anti-Defamation League found 2,717 incidents in 2021. Trump whistled the all clear for anti-Semites to exit their hiding place. With his buddies who mimic the Nazi salute, synagogues became a target for those who consider Trump their new Führer.
In the most recent right wing-inspired violence, five members of the LGBTQ community were murdered in a Colorado Springs nightclub. During Trump's administration, Human Rights Watch cited a roll back of protections and equal access to programs and services,
Certainly Trump's collection at Mar-a-Lago deserves scrutiny. And I'm all for going after him for his plotting and cheering on the Jan. 6 crowd. But there are many additional crimes that have his name and the NRA's attached.
After Trump took office, in October of 2017, 58 people were murdered and 850 injured when a gunman opened fire onto crowds at the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas.
Just one month later on November 5, Texas marked its worst massacre on record when 26 people – mostly children – were shot and killed as they attended a church service in Sutherland Springs.
The deadliest high school shooting on record occurred February 14, 2018 when a former student armed with a semi-automatic rifle entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and murdered 17 students and staff members.
Was Trump the shooter? No, but did the murderers feel emboldened by a president and his followers who glorify guns more than innocent worshipers and children.
While I'm listing the crimes that Trump should be responsible for, let's add his lack of attention to air pollution. Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, Latinos, and low-income populations are exposed to higher levels of stroke, ischaemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer than other groups. Climate control, like so many other life-saving issues, never caught the interest of Trump.
Lock him up, I say. If not for the murder of hundreds of thousands, let's nail him for his attempt to destroy American democracy. How much jail time would that guarantee for this assassin?