'The republic strikes back': Legal experts hail federal Trump indictment as a victory for the rule of law

A major legal and political bombshell came on Thursday night, June 8 when the news broke that former President Donald Trump had been indicted on seven counts in connection with special counsel Jack Smith's investigation of government documents he was storing at Mar-a-Lago. This indictment marks the first time in U.S. history that an ex-president has been indicted on federal criminal charges, although it isn't Trump's first indictment.

Trump was already facing a 34-count state prosecution from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr. Moreover, Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia are being investigated by Fulton County, Georgia DA Fani Willis. And Smith's other Trump-related federal investigation involves his post-election activities and the January 6, 2021 insurrection.

All this comes at a time when Trump is the frontrunner in 2024's Republican presidential primary. A Morning Consult poll that was released on June 6 and found Trump leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 34 percent among GOP primary voters.

In an article published by the conservative website The Bulwark on June 8, two legal experts — Harvard University law professor Laurence Tribe and former federal prosecutor Dennis Aftergut — hail the federal indictment as a triumph for the rule of law.

"At long last, the republic strikes back," Tribe and Aftergut declare. "The two-and-a-half-year delay in any federal charges since Trump left office forced many concerned Americans to wonder whether this Justice Department would protect the fundamental precept that no one, however powerful, is above the law. We now have Jack Smith's emphatic response."

The legal experts continue, "In charges resulting from the special counsel's investigation, we finally see a constitutional system asserting itself full force over a defiant scofflaw. History tells us that strong institutions prevail over strong personalities in such battles, at least when institutional values are backed by the beliefs and actions of dedicated citizens."

It remains to be seen whether Trump will be found innocent or guilty when Smith's federal case and Bragg's New York State case go to trial. But Tribe and Aftergut emphasize that whatever the outcomes, Smith and Bragg have sent out a message that even a former president is not above the law.

"Although innocent until proven guilty," they observe, "Trump now faces grave consequences for his conduct — consequences he famously predicted he could escape for any wrongdoing. Two prosecutors have now given the lie to that boast, as has a system of government whose centerpiece for 234 years has been the rule of law. We have 'a republic,' Benjamin Franklin said, and today, a second grand jury composed of ordinary citizens has affirmed that it wishes to keep it."