Alberto Gonzales — the 80th U.S. attorney general and former counsel to President George W. Bush — on Friday dismissed Donald Trump’s attempts to cast the Department of Justice’s classified documents case against him as a “witch hunt,” writing of the former president, “it is wrong and dangerous to undermine public confidence in the rule of law itself.”
Gonzales detailed his opinion in an op-ed for CNN, noting that while Trump’s approach is “a tried-and-true tactic of individuals burdened by unfavorable facts,” the “disingenuous” attacks “threaten the very foundations of our country.”
“Those of us who believe in civil discourse must seek to shore up our foundations, push back against Trump defenders’ attacks on the rule of law and refuse to be distracted,” Gonzales wrote.
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Gonzales noted that special counsel Jack Smith, like “an overwhelming number of federal prosecutors” is a career employee of the Justice Department and that “Attorney General Merrick Garland recused himself and appointed Smith as a special counsel under DOJ regulations.” Those regulations, Gonzales argued, “are designed to shield special investigations and prosecutors from possible political interference.”
Gonzales went on to lay out why the facts in Trump’s case “as presented to the grand jury of American citizens, supported bringing serious charges.”
“First of all, the photographs in the indictment show boxes and boxes being stashed at Trump’s Florida resort,” Gonzales wrote. “He admitted publicly that there were documents within the boxes, they were his and that he had the right and authority to possess them without coordination with the National Archives. Even after his indictment, Trump acknowledged during an appearance on Fox News on Monday that he had taken the documents, seeming to confirm that part of the indictment.”
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Gonzales acknowledged Trump’s claim that he “is being singled out when other have done the same,” but insisted there are important differences “in the level of cooperation” between those individuals and the Justice Department.
“On the other hand, Trump’s actions, as described in the indictment, were deliberate and willful,” Gonzales argued.
Gonzales also said he agrees with “many legal and law enforcement experts” who “believe that if Trump had fully cooperated from the beginning, he would not have been indicted.”
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“As attorney general, I very likely would not have approved the execution of a search warrant of the home of a former president who had meaningfully cooperated with authorities,” Gonzales said. “There would have been no need to do so.”
Lamenting that “no one in the nation is above the law,” Gonzales urged “today’s leaders to set aside their personal views of the politics of one controversial figure and remain focused on preserving the rule of law.”
“We all lose — as a country and as a people — if at the end of the former president’s trial, regardless of the outcome, the Department of Justice and the rule of law emerge weaker,” the former attorney general wrote.
Image by Brian Stansberry via Wikimedia and a CC license