Hump Day open thread, part deux: Wow

Well, happy Wednesday, Barflies! 

It seems that Donald John Trump, former so-called "president" of these United States, is in a bit of a pickle. Not only did he purloin the crown jewels of US intelligence; not only did he lie to the government that he had them; but he seems to have taken no care in their storage and security. And of course he didn't; security wasn't his concern. For him, these were his documents, his secrets, and he could do with them as he wished.

Of course, this was nonsense. Even declassified documents still belong to the government, and are not to be taken home as mementos. But these documents were not declassified. They contained some of the most sensitive secrets our government has. And Trump stole them like his guests steal his bathroom towels as a keepsake.

However, the idea that these were just remembrances is farcical. Trump was going to—or already has—use them for his benefit. Sell them, use them as leverage against the government, what have you.

We have had many men of questionable rectitude serve as president. But Trump is undoubtedly the first who saw the presidency has his personal office. He wanted nothing more than to emulate his hero Vladimir Putin and serve out the remainder of his days as president-for-life. Once he had attained power, his goal was to keep it by whatever means were necessary. We saw that on January 6th. And we can see this scandal in the same light.

I hesitate to call it a "scandal", though. This is far beyond that. This is treason, and I don't really care to mince constitutional niceties. No, he probably won't be charged with that crime. But he should be. What else do you call it when the former chief executive stealing classified files? And if the FBI has proof that he sold or somehow shared these materials with hostile powers? For me that's treason's definition.

The enormity of his malefactions have left him blubbering on his failing social media site, even going so far as to post the question "Why is everyone so mean". He has latched on to one excuse after another to evade responsibility, thinking that these evasions will keep him from meeting his fate. They won't. The government doesn't get this far in an investigation such as this without pulling the trigger and bringing indictments.

I've said it before in the comments: I would have no problem sticking a needle in his arm as punishment for his crimes. But spending the rest of his miserable days in Florence supermax would suffice. No access to media, no access to the internet, all visits closely monitored. No privacy, no bronzer, no hairstyling. Strip him of everything which he valued. And destroy his company and leave his children penniless. This entire family needs to be made an example of. No one must ever again entertain the notion that they are above the law and can traduce the Republic with no consequence.

As President Biden has been saying for two years: We are an inflection point. This is where we draw the line and say "no further". This is our time to face history.