Donald Trump is learning the hard way that there are consequences for him believing the false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen.
On Wednesday, the Department of Justice (DOJ), in a rare move, publicly rebuked the former president for his unsubstantiated claims. In court filings, DOJ lawyers said that regardless of the “litigating positions of the former president,” his belief that he was the actual winner of the election “is not a defense to the charge” he faces in his upcoming Senate impeachment trial.
The statement comes at a time when Republicans have been split on Trump’s role in the January 6 insurrection. Some GOP senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, strongly condemned the former president’s role in the siege on the Capitol, while others like Sens. Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul, and Ted Cruz have defended Trump by saying that his words did not specifically call for violence.
Although the DOJ’s statement does not mention any laws that Trump may have broken, they made it clear that his speech did not protect him from being held accountable.
As such, the DOJ is warning that the president’s fabricated story about the election “cannot provide him a defense to his own conduct,” questioning the moral integrity of the former president.
Critics of Trump said the court filing from the DOJ should serve as a warning that no one, not even the president, is immune from the consequences of their actions. Many believe that the former president has a responsibility as a member of the public to be truthful in his statements about the legitimacy of the election.
This is an important moment for the country as a whole, as it reminds us that as citizens, we must all be held accountable for our words and deeds. It is the DOJ’s hope that Trump’s rebuke will deter him from continuing to make false and unsubstantiated claims in the future.
Ultimately, the DOJ’s actions act as a reminder that no matter your status or beliefs, the truth must always be placed into consideration. And that is the lesson that Donald Trump should have already learned after the Department of Justice publicly rebuked him for his belief that the 2020 election was stolen.
