To the Editor:
No matter where you fall on the political spectrum, the evidence revealed in the latest indictment of Donald Trump should disturb every American who cares about protecting our freedom to vote and our democracy. In the latest indictment, President Donald Trump and key allies––including his lawyers Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows––were indicted on 41 criminal charges for attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia.
According to these indictments, Trump deliberately spread disinformation about the 2020 election, then used those lies to pressure state officials in Georgia and other swing states to overturn the will of voters, including by asking the Georgia secretary of state to “find 11,780 votes.” He and his cronies leaned on everyone they could to carry out their plans, from state officials to former Vice President Mike Pence.
When they couldn’t steal the presidency by throwing out votes or through phony paperwork, they rioted on our nation’s Capitol in an attempt to stop the election from being certified.
Some pundits are treating Trump’s indictments like political theater, but that’s not what this is about. It’s about being able to confidently cast our ballots as Americans, certain that our vote will be counted, no matter our political party. It’s about whether a president and his allies who are trying to cling to power should be able to throw out votes that they don’t like. The answer, of course, must be resoundingly no. We, the American people, choose our leaders, and not the other way around.
These are serious crimes against our country. To preserve the rule of law and our democracy, we must let the legal process proceed, without interruption or interference.
Our democracy depends on it.
Sincerely,
Joy Flanakin
Nashville
