'Don’t you want to know?' Missouri newspaper editorial board urges Republicans to read Trump indictment

03 August 2023

Editor's note: A spelling error was corrected.

United States Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith's historic indictment of former President Donald Trump for allegedly executing an illegal plot to subvert American democracy after he lost the 2020 election is unprecedented. The forty-five-page document contains four charges against Trump, each of which are federal felonies:

Conspiracy to Defraud the United States
Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding
Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding
Conspiracy Against Rights.

Trump maintains his innocence and repeatedly insists that Smith and President Joe Biden are victimizing him because he is leading in the polls for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024.

On Wednesday, The Kansas City Star Editorial Board urged Republicans to read Smith's complaint and consider the evidence that was amassed over the last two years.

"It explains, in great detail, how Trump knew from his own people that he had lost the election. And how, based on claims that even he knew to be 'crazy,' he tried through various schemes to stay in power anyway," the Board wrote of Smith's filing. "It explains, in a simple and straightforward way, what Trump did that has never been attempted by any previous occupant of the Oval Office."

The editors posed a question for Trump's supporters to consider, which centers on putting the nation ahead of politics.

"Don't you owe your country that effort?" they asked. "Even if you are among those who say yes, he committed serious crimes and you'll happily vote for him anyway, you still owe it to your country to acquaint yourself with what crimes it is that you're willing to overlook. Virtually all of the facts set out in the document were revealed by not just other Republicans, but by Republicans appointed and employed by Donald Trump."

The Board then challenged Trump's defenders to test their belief that Trump truly did nothing wrong, because if whatever he is accused of doing is indeed political persecution, then no harm can come from exploring Smith's case. "If you're not right, then don't you want to know that?" the editors posited. "Maybe not, because no one likes to have to admit, even to himself, that he was mistaken."

The Kansas City Star Editorial Board's full column is available at this link.

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