Mr. Trump should be drummed out of the GOP. Rather than remaining silent or defending Mr. Trump, Republican leaders should encourage their voters to peruse the indictment, as former vice president Mike Pence said he would do. Any fair-minded reading of the document leads to one, sure conclusion: Mr. Trump should never again be allowed anywhere near the Oval Office.
The indictment, secured by special counsel Jack Smith, reveals little new information about efforts to overturn the results of the most recent presidential contest. Yet even old information, expertly assembled, displayed all in one place, with specific explanations of why it should be considered criminal, is shocking.
The document is full of evidence reminding Americans about Mr. Trump’s character: He lies flagrantly; he disdains accountability; and he is eager to exploit the powers of his position to reward those who are loyal to him, punish those who aren’t and bully the rest into submission. But it also showed that Mr. Trump was prevented from doing his worst, because of the incompetence of some of those he promoted and, crucially, resistance from key staff. The indictment underscores how Mr. Trump evolved toward the end of his presidency, sidelining those offering such resistance and empowering his most radical enablers. The days of Mr. Pence, James B. Comey, Jeff Sessions and independent minds lower down in the executive branch would be gone in a second Trump term.
Yes, what Mr. Trump said to Mr. Pence when the vice president objected to his scheme is appalling: “You’re too honest.” But look also at what the former president told his acting attorney general in December 2020: “Just say that the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R. congressmen.” And then consider how he tried to oust this acting AG, who did not cooperate in his schemes, and install in his stead Jeffrey Clark, suspected to be one of the unindicted co-conspirators whose actions, as laid out in the indictment, are chilling. Just use the Insurrection Act, the co-conspirator suggested, to deal with those who would rise up against the overturning of the lawful election results.
These are the sorts of people Mr. Trump would surround himself with in a second term: conspiracy theorists, sure, but also those who will offer minimal complaint when he pressures them to serve not the nation but himself alone. This vision ought to convince the Republican Party, from top to bottom, that Mr. Trump cannot continue to lead it.
Mr. Pence deserves credit for tweeting, “Today’s indictment serves as an important reminder: anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be President of the United States.” Other GOP leaders, such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), stayed silent. Others still tarred the prosecution as a partisan distraction from Hunter Biden’s business dealings (House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California), or claimed that the prospective jury would be corrupted by the “swamp mentality” of Washington. (Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis).
Those in Mr. Trump’s party should cease to be his co-conspirators. Some elected officials have said the former president’s alleged wrongs should be dealt with not through the courts but through the political system. They are part of that system, and they should challenge their supporters to protect its integrity by refusing to empower again a leader who has demonstrated such contempt for the voters — and, indeed, the nation’s core values.