Here’s what I think happened. I think Trump took things that he thought he had a right to keep. The document he allegedly showed to a reporter shows why he did so: he wanted to refute claims by his political enemies.
The problem for him is that he seems to say on the transcript that he didn’t actually declassify the document before leaving the White House (though he could have). So he could be convicted.
My feeling is that this case never should have been brought and the investigation should have been handled with greater fairness and transparency. Raiding and then prosecuting a former president and opposition leader is so Third World that it really would only be justified in extreme circumstances. Selective prosecution is a reality.
I think DOJ can’t see how bad they look — “one law for all”? really? — because they hate Trump, because there was no accountability for past abuses, and because they see everything through the lens of January 6.
Here’s where we are. Trump could be acquitted and he will still face state charges in NY and soon GA that are purely political. He could face the rest of his life in prison or in court, largely for bullshit. He may have no choice but to leave the country, which is what happens in the Third World. In fact, if I were him that is what I would do, given that he has a plane and has places to go and live comfortably.
We have been brought to this point because people who hated Trump could not be satisfied by following the law and the constitution but sought every possible means to destroy him and humiliate his supporters. And for what? On the whole, he was a very successful president who gave up his private fortune and fame for public service. He is a casualty of our failed elite’s determination to hold onto power. Their policies have failed and and now they have doomed public faith in democracy.
This week'd portion begins the book of Numbers. Interestingly, the Hebrew name for the book is "In the Desert," not "Numbers." The portion, which happens to be my bar mitzvah portion, focuses almost as much on the names of the princes of each tribe as the number of soldiers it fielded. It also focuses on the configuration of the tribal camps around the central Tabernacle and the Levites.
So why "Numbers" instead of "Names" or "Places"? The numbers are, to be sure, a unique feature of the opening of this Biblical book -- but they are not the focus of the rest of the narrative. The Hebrew focuses on the place where the events in the book take place, because essentially this is the narrative of the Israelites' wanderings from Egypt to Israel, across 40 years. We move from the giving of the Torah and the construction of the Tabernacle in Exodus and Leviticus, to the final valediction of Moses in Deuteronomy -- Bamidbar is the story of wandering that happened in between.
The question of ...
This week's portion begins with the laws of the Sabbath and the Sabbatical year, and the Jubilee year that restores all land to its original (tribal) owners. It also explores laws of property and labor that will apply in the Land of Israel, and the laws of vows and inheritance.
The Israelites are presented -- not for the last time -- with the essential moral choice that they must face, and the rewards for choosing well, along with the consequences for choosing poorly.
We learn that doing good things will earn God's protection from enemies. That does not mean that victims of terror, God forbid, were sinful. But it does mean that we can respond to evil by committing ourselves to a higher path.
This week's portion describes the major sacrifices that are to be offered by the Jewish people, including those that are offered only by the priestly Kohen class, and physical requirements of the people (men) who serve in that role.
Inter alia, there are interesting commandments -- such as an injection to treat animals with respect and care, first, by letting a mother animal nurse her offspring for a week before being offered in any sacrifice; and second, by refraining from slaughtering an animal and its offspring on the same day.
The commandments regarding animals remind us of the purpose of those regarding human beings: to uphold a divine connection, through ritual.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/111878/jewish/Rabbi-Isaac-Luria-The-Ari-Hakodosh.htm
