Speaking as someone who was a loyal Democrat voter for most of my adult life, I have to say that I find the inquisitorial zeal of Special Counsel Jack Smith a concern because the timing of his investigation and indictments of former President Trump raises real questions about his methods and motivations.

First and foremost, why were these supposedly egregious Trump attacks on our country’s electoral laws and institutions apparently not crimes two and a half years ago? Why is it only now, with the 2024 elections looming and President Biden’s popularity in the metaphorical toilet, that charges are raining down on Donald Trump like rocks thrown off a highway overpass?

By turning the U.S. Department of Justice into a punitive partisan actor determined to kneecap the putative Republican front runner, Mr. Smith is setting a dangerous precedent. He is further corroding the already tattered credibility of federal prosecutors who only a few short years ago humiliated themselves with the empty and expensive Mueller investigation into supposed Russian collusion during the 2016 election of Donald Trump, a protracted inquiry that showed the allegations were a sneaky and dastardly political hit job whose origins were funded by the election campaign of his opponent, Hillary Clinton.

Numerous charges continue to be filed today against Mr. Trump by Mr. Smith with an exquisite timing meant to result in federal trials smack in the the middle of the Republican primaries. It is hoped these spectacles will also distract from the bribery and classified document scandals now plaguing President Biden and his son, Hunter. 

Furthermore, due to Biden’s crushing unpopularity and appalling mental deterioration, Democrats greatly prefer to keep the public’s attention firmly focused on Donald Trump. Democrats do not want the hunt for Joe Biden’s replacement, which will also involve the dicey task of ditching Kamala Harris, his incredibly incompetent Vice President, on the nation’s front pages every day, so a parade of high-profile prosecutions directed against Donald Trump also serves the useful political purpose of providing a handy distraction. To ignore this underlying factor is to also ignore another reason for the curious timing of Mr. Smith’s indictments.

Finding a plausibly electable candidate who can be the next stooge for those intent on perpetuating the next climate hoax, Covid-19 panic, or Critical Race Theory exercise in demanding the collective guilt and punishment of those Americans deemed insufficiently terrified and dangerously free in their thoughts and actions is going to be messy and embarrassing, so the more Donald Trump is in the news, the better it is for Democrats. Moreover, because the replacement candidate for Joe Biden is likely to carry a lot of unpalatable baggage, Democratic operatives are probably pleased at the idea of convincing Americans to vote against Donald Trump rather than for the high inflation, exploding crime, open borders, and national humiliation associated with the sad, dysfunctional Biden presidential debacle.

Using the courts to wear down the will of your political enemies and besmirch their names is a tried and true political tactic, and Jack Smith, whose professional and personal ties with the Democratic establishment run extraordinarily deep, is the perfect prosecutor for this maneuver. The disconnect between the ire directed at the investigations of Donald Trump and his surrogates into the many anomalous results of the 2020 Presidential election and the complete lack of interest in the mounting evidence that Joe Biden sold his Vice Presidency to the highest bidder is obvious to Americans across the political spectrum. This two-tiered administration of justice likely accounts for at least some of the surge in Donald Trump’s popularity with voters. Americans have never liked those with wealth and power who twist the laws of our nation to their own advantage, and most of us can only dream of the kind of free pass Joe Biden and his family have enjoyed for many decades.

In an America where prosecutorial and political dirty tricks are not so distressingly common, the obvious solution to the many questions surrounding the direction of our country would be to let the voters decide for themselves. Although our nation’s elites and insiders are convinced we are stupid sheep who must be manipulated and lied to for our own good, our citizens are surprisingly sophisticated and sound of mind and judgment. Although myopic self-interest sometimes results in the election of weak officials on the local and municipal levels, state and federal elections—if free of fraud—have produced many of our nation’s greatest leaders. Even in the most extreme circumstances, such as our 1864, 1916, and 1944 Presidential elections during times of war, voters managed to be both wise and judicious in their choices, and free and fair elections provided outcomes that guided our nation through the worst of times.

Continuing to turn judges and prosecutors into political actors is guaranteed to undermine our remaining faith in both our political and judicial systems. The use of our courts by ideologues and craven partisans to subvert our elections is predicated on a lack of faith in the intelligence of America’s voters and a fear that Donald Trump’s re-election will end their determined efforts to re-engineer our social, economic, and cultural norms to fit their vision for a new America based on overtly Marxist ideals.

If questioning the veracity of elections is a crime, should attempts to fix elections by manipulating our legal system result in the same number of investigations and indictments? The answer to this question will likely determine the success—or failure—of American democracy in the decades to come.