Unequal Justice: From Russiagate to Trumpgate

Impeachment is not limited to indictable offenses. As Alexander Hamilton wrote, impeachment extends to serious violations of “the public trust.”

The greatest immediate threat to American democracy isn’t Russian intervention in our elections. It’s Donald Trump. So if you’re searching for a term to express the dangers posed by Trump’s presidency, don’t invoke “Russiagate.” Think instead of “Trumpgate.”

Although I am not the first to use the Trumpgate label, the tag has not yet gained wide currency. But rest assured, if the recent past is any prologue to the future, it will.

So let’s begin by defining Trumpgate as the ever-expanding cluster of scandals, ethical infractions, and criminal conduct that Trump has triggered, abetted, and committed since the earliest days of the campaign, coupled with the President’s very real and severe personal pathologies.

This is not to minimize the importance of the investigation conducted by Justice Department special counsel Robert S. Mueller III into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The Mueller probe is vital, but it’s only part of a much bigger picture.

The Mueller probe is vital, but it’s only part of a much bigger picture.