Will Donald Trump ever be held accountable in court?

Nearly a year ago, even before the alleged insurrection and assault on the U.S. Capitol of Jan. 6, 2021, I wrote a piece asking if President Donald Trump should face prosecution when he left office, pointing out that a limited prosecution focused on the most serious criminal charges would provide him his day in court.

I also wrote that it would be the only sure-fire way to prove or disprove allegations of wrongdoing, complete with all due process available to the accused, but fortified with admissible fact-based evidence that would be fully transparent to the public.

I acknowledged that whether this would happen was a very real question, given the desperate need to unify the nation, tame the pandemic, end racial disparities, combat the scourge of misinformation and heal our divisions. One could add President Joe Biden’s political need to get things done in Congress to speed economic recovery and move the country forward. However, there was, and still is, a compelling need to ensure no one is above the law, not even a former president.

Now, after another year of interminable investigations at every level of government, without a grand jury being convened to consider charges against Trump directly and without an indictment on any charge, I am forced to contemplate the very real possibility that this will never happen, that the only slight measure of accountability, if at all, will be at the ballot box in 2022 and 2024. Justice delayed is justice denied.

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After CNN’s chilling account about Trump’s overt attempt to overturn the election and incite the Jan. 6 insurrection, entitled “Trumping Democracy,” as told by the few Republicans of integrity willing to speak out about it, I fear that only the court of public opinion, and perhaps historians, will ever settle the matter.

The truth is that any criminal trial involving the former president would be a circus to beat all circuses. His lawyers would employ every possible means to delay, obstruct and frustrate such a prosecution. Trump would find his Roy Cohn. Just finding a jury would be a gargantuan task; is there anyone in America without a fixed opinion, for or against?

If you thought Jan. 6 brought out the crazies, can you imagine what the Proud Boys and other violent extremists would do in an attempt to shut down the trial? Prosecutors, witnesses (and their families) would face death threats and personal attacks, beyond anything the country has ever seen. The security requirements would be enormous, and costly.

Even if convicted, the verdict would be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court through panels of judges and justices dominated by handpicked GOP appointees. It would take years to play out, allowing Trump to rally his supporters, and even run for office again.

Perhaps the easiest criminal charge to prove would spring from the Fulton County, Georgia, district attorney’s investigation of Trump’s attempt to get Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to just “find 11,780 votes,” enough to overturn Biden’s victory in Georgia. (Granted, “inciting an insurrection” is much more serious, but must we wait another year for a referral to the Department of Justice from Congress?)

Many have heard the audio tape where for about an hour, then-President Trump made his desperate appeal to Raffensperger, including a veiled threat of prosecution if he failed in his job, yet to which Raffensperger respectfully stood his ground. I have asked myself several times, what more does anyone need to sustain criminal charges? More corroboration as to intent? How much more time do they really need to conclude the investigation and present the evidence to a grand jury?

No prosecutor wants to embark upon such a monumental task unless it is a slam dunk and irrefutable. There must be no question as to the former president’s intent. Two unsuccessful impeachment trials have only emboldened Trump. They can’t afford to lose.

This reality explains why prosecutors may settle for a tax evasion charge that is irrefutable, based solely upon the numbers. We have seen that in organized crime and major white-collar prosecutions. That could happen in New York.

Although a fervent believer in the rule of law, I am not sure the U.S. justice system is up to this task. Nor do I believe the country can endure such a spectacle without the threat of another civil war. For the sake of democracy, please prove me wrong.

Robert Mounts lives in Gainesville.

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This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Robert Mounts: Will Donald Trump ever be held accountable in court?