Donald Trump indicted: Former US president has no one to blame but himself

As Donald Trump faces 37 legal counts over the alleged mishandling of classified documents, the former US president continues to point the finger at everyone else but himself.

Donald Trump. Picture: AFP

Donald Trump has no one to blame but himself for his latest arrest and arraignment.

The former president rants and raves about conspiracies and corruption, about deranged prosecutors and political witch hunts.

But the simple fact – which even Mr Trump admits – is that he took classified national security documents from the White House. Two years ago, when the National Archives asked for them back, he could have handed them over and avoided any trouble.

Donald Trump waves to supporters after he appeared for his arraignment in Miami. Picture: Getty/AFP

Federal prosecutors accused the former US president of endangering national security by holding on to top secret nuclear and defence documents. Picture: AFP

Instead, according to a damning 37-count indictment, Mr Trump decided the law did not apply to him.

He moved boxes of files to hide them from authorities, told his lawyers to conceal anything that was “really bad’, and made false and misleading statements about his efforts to comply with a subpoena. He even showed the secret documents to people and admitted he knew it was wrong to do so because they were not declassified.

Donald Trump departs a Miami court after an arraignment regarding 37 federal charges. Picture: AFP

The former president has no clothes, and yet Republicans who should know better are continuing to defend him, apparently based on the fact that at least there was a lock on the door to the bathroom at his Mar-a-Lago home where some of the files were stored.

For anyone quibbling with whether this amounts to a federal crime, here is what Mr Trump said as a candidate in the 2016 presidential election: “In my administration, I’m going to enforce all laws concerning the protection of classified information. No one will be above the law.”

A photo used evidence in the indictment against Donald Trump, shows stacks of boxes in a bathroom and shower allegedly in the Lake Room at Mar-a-Lago. Picture: AFP

Republicans defending Donald Trump argue there was a lock on the door to the bathroom at his Mar-a-Lago home where some of the files were stored. Picture: AFP

The scene at Miami’s federal courthouse on Wednesday was not reminiscent of Cuba or Venezuela, as one of his lawyers complained. It was the democratic rule of law in action.

Of course, Mr Trump is personally entitled to the presumption of innocence. Politically, however, the Republican Party needs to come to grips with the insanity of choosing him as their candidate for the third straight presidential election.

Despite his legal woes, Donald Trump remains the Republican Party’s presidential frontrunner. Picture: Getty/AFP

Yes, the indictment will probably boost his poll numbers among Republican primary voters, just as his arrest three months ago over hush money paid to a porn star enhanced his frontrunner status to claim the party’s nomination next year.

This is not surprising. These voters largely still believe the last election was stolen from him.

But Mr Trump lost fairly and squarely in 2020, his candidates lost again in the midterm elections in 2022, and it is hard to imagine that serious criminal charges will change that trend in 2024.

Mr Trump says next year’s election is America’s final battle. In truth, with two indictments lodged and two more likely to follow, it is his last and best chance to remain a free man. And the US deserves more than a president who wants to be in the Oval Office to pardon himself.