Editorial — Uncharted waters: Bragg pushes nation into chaos with charges against Trump

In one of the few wise choices he made regarding the scandal, Nixon had the good sense to resign from office rather than risk being impeached. Privately, Republican congressional leaders advised him that the odds of surviving a trial in the U.S. Senate were slim at best. But publicly, Nixon told Americans that he had to put the interests of the nation above his personal desire to remain in office.

President William J. Clinton displayed no such grace when he was impeached. He dragged out the proceedings as long as possible before finally admitting that he had in fact lied when previously claiming that he never had a sexual relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky.

Clinton compelled Americans to wade through the impeachment process and subsequent trial, and he forced Democrats to staunchly defend his reckless behavior. He survived the whole ordeal, but it took a huge toll on our nation.

So for the past five decades, we’ve actively avoided seeing someone who once oversaw the executive branch of our federal government brought to trial. This is unfortunate. Frankly, the arguments that we shouldn’t put ourselves through such an experience are weak.

Yes, we are strong enough as a society to endure a criminal prosecution of a former president. Just because most of us don’t want to see that happen doesn’t mean we’ll wilt if it does.

If we can’t tough it out when an ex-commander in chief must stand in the dock, we are fooling ourselves about the very concept of American exceptionalism. Individuals are not immune from prosecution simply because they remain wildly popular among a large segment of the population. If criminal charges against a former president are warranted, it’s only proper that they be brought.

However, an indictment against someone who once held this position must clearly have merit. A pending case against Donald J. Trump — the first such charges against a former president in our nation’s history — doesn’t appear to live up to this billing.

Alvin L. Bragg Jr., the district attorney in Manhattan, has decided to shove the country into this situation. He succeeded in persuading a grand jury to approve an indictment against Trump. The charges stem from accusations that Trump directed his attorney, Michael D. Cohen, to pay hush money to Stormy Daniels in 2016 as a result of an affair they reportedly had before he became president.

Many legal authorities have noted that a case like this would normally be filed as a misdemeanor. But Bragg opted to pursue it as a felony. He seems to be contorting the law to get Trump no matter what it takes.

This is not to argue that there’s no evidence for a criminal case against Trump. David Cay Johnston, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who has covered Trump for several decades, has persuasively written about how Trump broke the law while serving in the Oval Office.

However, Bragg’s case does not involve these issues. He has brought the nation to the brink of chaos with a dubious argument. Given the gravity of what’s at stake, it makes sense for us to ask if this case is worth the trouble its causing.

In addressing members of Congress nearly 120 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt stated: “No man is above the law …” Those who express their glee at Trump’s indictment are fond of repeating this line.

But it’s worth noting that Roosevelt followed this idea with another one: “… and no man is below it.” Just as all Americans must adhere to the rule of law, our statutes need to be carried out impartially on every citizen. Legitimate questions have been raised about whether Bragg’s personal bias against Trump is clouding his judgment.

Trump is not above the law, nor is he below it. Before dragging our country through a painfully divisive experience, Bragg should make sure that his prosecution against Trump has the merit for the charges he’s seeking. History will not be kind if this turns out not to be the case.