Letter to the Editor: Submitted by Thomas Hill

To the Editor:

Once we have made up our minds on a contentious issue, it is difficult for us to accept evidence that contradicts our view. On no topic today is this more apparent than Donald Trump’s role in the events leading up to January 6, 2021, and his ongoing position in our political system.

He has recently been indicted by Jack Smith, U.S. Special Counsel, and Fani Willis, Fulton County District Attorney for his actions. Trump supporters dismiss these indictments as mere political acts by Democrats and refuse to consider them with unbiased eyes.

Recently, however, an unimpeachable Republican, J. Michael Luttig, has spoken out to Judy Woodruff on the PBS News Hour (August 14th, 2023) about these issues. Luttig is a retired federal judge and a leading conservative jurist.

During the interview he said: “since January 6, 2021, it has been the Republicans who have reprehensibly failed us as Americans. On January 6, the former president and the Republican allies, his allies and supporters, declared war on American democracy. . . . The former president sought to overturn an American election which he had lost fair and square. . . . Vast, vast numbers of Americans, into the millions, today no longer believe in the elections in the United States of America. . . . They no longer believe in the institutions of law and democracy in America, the very pillars of our foundation. And many of those people have begun even to question the Constitution of the United States.”

He had harsh words for our leaders: “Any leader, Republican or Democrat, who has not spoken against January 6 and the former president’s role in it has betrayed their oath.” What the former president did “is not politics. . . . [I]t’s literally crimes against the United States of America. But all of our politicians, and especially the Republicans, have regarded it as nothing more than politics. In that respect, they have failed Americans.”

When asked by Woodruff how our country can right itself, he replied: “What we need to do is remove our power from our elected officials who have betrayed us as Americans and send to Washington others who better understand than today’s officials that their power is our power.”

I would ask my Republican friends who support Trump to read the indictments and watch the trials (if televised) with open minds. An iconic Republican, such as Luttig, would only speak as he did because he believes, “Donald Trump and his allies and supporters are a clear and present danger to American democracy.”

Thomas Hill
Lansing