McConnell & Graham Endorse Trump: Is it Good?

[ANALYSIS and OPINION]

Let it be clearly understood that my practice includes folks of every type.  I don’t care what a client’s political party is or what the client’s race, religion, tribe, nationality or sex is.  I represent all clients, regardless of whether they agree with my personal opinions, to the very best of my ability, to see to it that they get the best results that they are entitled to under the law given the facts and circumstances of their cases.

However, the recent statements of Senator’s Mitch McConnell and Lindsey Graham prompt me to write this article because their statements are nothing short of extremely alarming—especially since both men are lawyers and, as far as I’m concerned, should know better.

In Virginia, where I practice law, under Rule 8.4 of the Virginia Rules of Professional Conduct (for lawyers)it is deemed to be professional misconduct (and thus grounds for suspension or revocation of my license to practice law) for me to, (among other things) to:

“…

(b) commit a criminal or deliberately wrongful act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty, trustworthiness or fitness to practice law;  [and/or]

(c) engage in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation which reflects adversely on the lawyer’s fitness to practice law….”

Shouldn’t the person running for President of the United States, the most powerful nation on earth, be held to at least the same standards as I, a very humble Virginia lawyer, am?   If he’s not, how can all citizens really have any faith that the rule of law prevails in our country and/or that justice will be meted out fairly and objectively with no favoritism to anyone?

I believe strongly in a reasonable interpretation of the United States Constitution and the notion of the rule of law.  By “rule of law” I mean laws properly enacted through processes recognized by the United States Constitution itself, and not some kind of oppressive enforcement of arbitrary or dictatorial powers. To my mind, the truest definition of “an American” has absolutely nothing to do with their race, color, religion, nationality or sex.  An American, is an American because of a profound belief in the sanctity of the U.S. Constitution and the rule of law as I’ve defined it above.**  In short, this country was put together, that is unified into one nation, because of the shared ideals of the Constitution itself.  That’s why the Constitution was adopted.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. To continually deny the legitimacy of the results of court cases sets a very dangerous precedent.***  In essence, it destroys the legitimacy of the third and co-equal branch of our government, namely, the judiciary.  Constantly attacking the rulings of the courts is an attack on the legitimacy of our Constitutional framework. The courts were put there by our Founding Fathers, to provide a mechanism for the peaceful resolution of all disputes.  If court decisions are not recognized and respected there is no way for adversaries, including importantly, political ones, to peacefully resolve their differences.  If court decisions are not honored peace itself cannot last.

If one takes the position of  many Trump supporters, and adds the recent statements of Senators McConnell and Lindsey Graham (and others), one cannot help but to come to the alarming conclusion that many, if not most, Trump supporters do not care anything about what the courts say or do. Senators Graham and McConnell will often justify their position endorsing Trump on the basis that supporting Trump, regardless of whether he’s convicted of a felony, is what the Republican Party wants and that they (Graham, McConnell and others) place priority on the Republicans “winning”. ****  This, however, is a highly dangerous and misguided priority. It is submitted that the priority of everyone should be, and must be, to put the best interests of the country as whole, and not that of their political party, at the forefront.  Failure to put America as a whole first, by diminishing, disparaging denigrating or disregarding court decisions will only result in chaos, bloodshed or worse.

Before closing, one other aspect of McConnell’s and Graham’s endorsement is both very interesting and also alarming.  And that is that they haven’t even read, heard or seen what the evidence is. They do not yet know, what felonies and crimes Trump will be convicted of—or if he will be convicted of anything at all.  The timing of their endorsements seems to assume that he will be convicted of something, perhaps even a felony, all of which implies that they also believe it highly likely that Trump has done something wrong.  What does that say about the person that they are supporting?  Moreover, and perhaps even worse, it could be taken by some, including by Trump himself, as a license granting him permission to engage in future misconduct because he will be supported regardless of what he does.  Isn’t that the definition of a dictator?

The reader can learn by reading the article and watching the news videos at the link below. Be sure to scroll half way down the linked page for the Editorial covering this subject.:

Click here for more on McConnell Graham Endorse Trump

David D. Lentz

Attorney at Law

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END NOTE

** [The foregoing assumes, of course, that they the person in question otherwise qualifies to be an American citizen under appliable law.] The foregoing is absolutely not to say, that I do not believe that Americans whose families have been here for generations are not right to feel a strong sense of alarm at the number of foreigners entering the country both legally and illegally. (I largely share that feeling.  No one likes to feel that strangers have moved in and taken over.)  But the very serious immigration problem we have is a subject that is different from that discussed in this article.  In the strongest terms, I do not believe that the immigration problem gives anyone license to support leaders who would violate the Constitution and/or usurp any executive branch or other powers in order to “fix” or “solve” the immigration or any other problem.

***  Supporters of former President Trump, have been particularly guilty of this.  They continually claim, without justification, that the election was stolen. This notwithstanding that at least 60 different courts (many with Republican judges) have unamimously held that the election was not stolen. Joe Biden’s election in 2020 was valid.  Those who continue to question the 2020 election are in serious breach of their duties as American citizens to obey the rule of law and the Constitution.  Moreover, their position has endangered peace and the existence of democracy in this country.  This is because their beliefs denigrate the role and power of the courts to peacefully resolve differences between citizens and political parties.

**** Alternatively, politicians voicing support for Trump will who’ve strongly criticized or rebuked him in the past, will justify supporting him because, they say it’s what the voters want (meaning the majority of the base of the Republican Party).  Several points should be made in response to this highly questionable rationalization. Firstly, the United States is not strictly speaking a pure “democracy” where the general public gets to vote, by referendum, on every issue. Instead, the United States is a “republic” where the public only gets to vote on who their representatives are, and those elected representative then make all the other governmental decisions on behalf of everyone. Secondly, shouldn’t leaders help to educate the public on the proper standards of conduct?  Thirdly: What ever happened to leadership and setting an example? And lastly: Does not a person have a duty to refuse to support his or her party if supporting it would ultimately lead to chaos, bloodshed and/or the destruction of democracy in America?

David Dixon Lentz                                          May 6, 2024

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