Yes, Trump Is Being Held Accountable
Many
critics of President Trump, including a sizable number of Democrats in
the Republican-controlled Congress, are wary about the incipient
congressional investigations of Russia’s interference in the 2016
presidential election and the possibly related Russian entanglements
with the Trump administration and campaign. They suspect that an
independent investigation from outside the government is the only hope
for checking a president who seems oblivious to press criticism, whose
party controls Congress and who has the executive branch under his
thumb.
These
worries are understandable but misplaced. There might be a time when an
independent investigation becomes necessary, but we are not nearly
there yet. For now, our constitutional system is working well to ferret
out the truth and to hold Mr. Trump and his subordinates accountable.
The most important checks on the Trump presidency come from inside it. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is reportedly conducting at least three investigations
related to Russia, the election and the administration. Whatever one
thinks about his pre-election maneuvers, the F.B.I. director, James B.
Comey (a former colleague of mine at the Justice Department), has proved
to be an independent actor, and he has every interest in pursuing the
cases wherever they lead.
Mr.
Trump could fire Mr. Comey on a whim, but that would not kill the
F.B.I. investigation. Rather, just as President Richard Nixon hastened
his impeachment with the Watergate-related firings known as the
“Saturday Night Massacre,” canning Mr. Comey would only heighten the
public’s and Congress’s suspicions about Mr. Trump’s guilt and increase
pressure on the F.B.I. and others to get to the bottom of the Russia
matter.
Many
worry that even if the F.B.I. were to conduct an investigation that
warranted criminal proceedings, the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, a
close ally of the president, would squelch them. But after examining the
department’s rules and consulting its ethics experts, Mr. Sessions has
recused himself “from any existing or future investigations of any
matter relating in any way to the campaigns for president of the United
States.” Those investigations will now be supervised by Rod J.
Rosenstein, soon to be the deputy attorney general, who is a career
prosecutor of undoubted independence and an expert on national security
and public corruption.
Another
reason to think the existing process is working to keep the president
in check are the plentiful leaks from the executive branch that have
revealed a great deal about the Russian imbroglio. Leaks of this sort
are a predicable response to a perception of illegitimacy or overreach
inside the executive branch. It is hard to know at this point which
leaks are justified and which are illegitimate. But overall they
function as a significant constraint on this presidency.
The
leaks have also shown the strength of the press, belying worries that
journalists would be chilled by President Barack Obama’s crackdown on
leaks and Mr. Trump’s unusual attacks on the news media. The Fourth
Estate is covering the Trump presidency with unusual critical vigor,
reporting concrete and damning details as if it had a seat inside the
Oval Office.
Finally,
there are the investigations by Congress. Prominent Republicans such as
Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator Lindsey Graham of South
Carolina have questioned the president’s honesty on the Russia matter.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is conducting an “independent review”
and has already been briefed by Mr. Comey. The House Intelligence
Committee will begin hearings next week. A subcommittee of the Senate
Judiciary Committee is also investigating the matter and has pledged “to
ensure that the F.B.I.’s work is free of all political influence.”
While
there is no doubt that partisan politics will inform what many in both
congressional parties do in this matter, one should not overlook what is
truly remarkable here: In the second month of a new presidency, several
bodies in a Congress controlled by the president’s party are conducting
high-profile, politically fraught and hard-to-control investigations
that potentially implicate current and former administration officials
and former campaign officials.
All
of these actors and institutions are holding the Trump presidency to
account. They are endeavoring to uncover the truth about the manifold
Russian mysteries. And they can, if they see fit, take action with
effects ranging from publicity and embarrassment to political damage
with electoral consequences to criminal prosecution to impeachment if
appropriate.
It’s
true that the process of accountability is halting and frustratingly
slow. But this is as it should be. The stakes could not be higher for
our democracy. Ascertaining the truth is vital, and respect for the
innocent is as important as identification of wrongdoing. It is thus
crucial that the complex and elusive facts be sorted out in a fair and
procedurally rigorous manner, and that the law be applied with
deliberation and good judgment. Justice
seems elusive here because it is so plodding. But plodding justice is
our best chance for a legitimate resolution to this mess.
Jack Goldsmith, a former
assistant attorney general in the George W. Bush administration, is a
professor at Harvard Law School and a senior fellow at the Hoover
Institution.
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