In a rare break from his usual criticism of the former president, Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah came to Donald Trump's defense on Tuesday after he was charged by Democrats prosecutor with 34 criminal counts in Manhattan.
"Even so, I believe the New York prosecutor has stretched to reach felony criminal charges in order to fit a political agenda," said Romney. "No one is above the law, not even former presidents, but everyone is entitled to equal treatment under the law."
"The prosecutor's overreach sets a dangerous precedent for criminalizing political opponents and damages the public's faith in our justice system," he added.
That’s a political rival with integrity!
My take on it:
1. In a real democracy, human rights are above the law. This includes the right to protect one's reputation and family, especially in cases involving sexual matters that in healthy society shouldn’t become public.
2. Offense should be punishable only if it causes more harm than it prevents.
Even if Trump's lie is technically an offense, human rights should still guide justice over the law.
3. Additionally, the public interest in maintaining 80 million voter’s trust in the legal system must be considered when deciding whether to sacrifice a case to protect the system or to risk the system for the case.
4. Donald Trump is not the issue at stake. Trust -or distrust- in the legal system and Justice is.