Opinion | The F.B.I. Raid at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Home
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To the Editor:
Re “Trump Says F.B.I. Searched Home in South Florida” (front page, Aug. 9):
Many of us law-abiding citizens have wondered how it could be that there have not yet been any criminal charges lodged against former President Donald Trump for all of the blatant acts of corruption and constitutional violations that we conclude have taken place. Finally, it appears that there might be progress.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is known as a cautious man who carefully considers his actions and does not act in haste. He apparently authorized an unprecedented execution of a search warrant against a former president, a large contingent of agents visiting Mr. Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.
Naturally, Mr. Trump is playing the poor beleaguered soul as he always does, asserting that the raid was unnecessary and inappropriate (“They even broke into my safe!”), and stating, apparently in seriousness, that he has been cooperative — this as he has for years fought tooth and nail investigations and requests for documents. He will attempt to use the situation to his advantage to enhance his political prospects and to raise millions of dollars more from the gullible.
If Mr. Trump feels that the justice system is hot on his trail, he may be right. Patriotic Americans who cherish our democratic system of governance can hope that a former president who trampled upon American ideals and values is finally held accountable. Stay tuned!
Oren Spiegler
Peters Township, Pa.
To the Editor:
The key thing to note about the House minority leader Kevin McCarthy’s outraged reaction to the search of Donald Trump’s house is his total lack of concern with the facts. Mr. Trump may have made off with documents that belong to the government, not to Mr. Trump. The law-and-order Republican Party once would have called that theft, but there is no concern in today’s Republican leadership for facts.
What are the facts? If Mr. Trump did nothing wrong, the facts will acquit him. If he did break the law, he should be accountable. That would be a first.
Don Doernberg
Penn Valley, Calif.
To the Editor:
Forty-seven percent of voters in the 2020 presidential election voted for Donald Trump despite aggressive efforts by many in the media to see him defeated.
The F.B.I.’s raiding of Mr. Trump’s personal space without an overt explanation by a judge or the Justice Department solidifies most of his voters’ impression that the Democratic Party will do anything to eliminate his possible candidacy in 2024.
I currently sympathize with Mr. Trump. He survived two impeachment hearings and the Russia collusion investigation, but it appears that the Democrats will stop at nothing to neutralize him.
To the Editor:
Re “Trump Lament to Aide: Why Aren’t My Generals Like Hitler’s? Book Says” (news article, Aug. 9):
Donald Trump’s lament reflects the fact that by law in Nazi Germany, every member of the armed services had to take an oath of personal loyalty to their Führer.
When I did my military service back in the Vietnam era, I took an oath of allegiance — to the Constitution! Sworn oaths matter.
When American servicemen and women are required to swear loyalty to a person, we’ll know that our experiment in government by the people has failed.
Geoffrey H. Basson
New York
David McCullough Brought History to Life
To the Editor:
Re “David McCullough, 1933-2022: Spellbinding Author Who Took His Audience to 1776 and Back” (obituary, front page, Aug. 9):
No one was better at bringing the remarkable personalities and events of the American experience to life than David McCullough. The great courage of Theodore Roosevelt. The insatiable curiosity of the Wright brothers. The pugnacious determination of Harry S. Truman and the extraordinary partnership of John and Abigail Adams.
With his death at 89, the biographer and historian leaves behind a series of grand narratives encompassing a group of men and women who achieved immortality by leaving the United States of America better than they found it. One can say the same about David McCullough.
Laurence Jurdem
Darien, Conn.
The writer is an adjunct professor of United States history at Fordham University.
To the Editor:
We have lost our historical conscience, at a time when we desperately need one.
Mark Rask
Minneapolis
A Singer-Songwriter, on Uvalde and Parkland
To the Editor:
I’m a singer-songwriter who recently released a song, “Alithia’s Flowers (Children of Uvalde),” inspired by a drawing made by 10-year-old Alithia Ramirez, a victim of the recent Texas school shooting. Since then I’ve been in contact with Alithia’s parents and others in the Uvalde community. Just to be near the depth of pain people there are experiencing is wrenching.
Reading “In Parkland Trial, Families Lay Bare Shattered Lives and Anguish” (front page, Aug. 6) made me wonder about the shooters. What kind of society has produced them? One that often glorifies violence, guns, power over others; allows easy access to military-style weapons; puts down women, people of color, L.G.B.T.Q.+ people and anyone considered weak — and also one that has paid tragically insufficient attention to those suffering from severe mental health issues.
The article indicates that the Parkland-case prosecutors think the only proper response to this crime is to kill the killer or lock him up for life. It also implies that he may have brain damage.
I hope that this will be considered and that the outcome will include professional help for this person, while keeping others safe from him as long as necessary. If we pretend that some people are just “evil,” needing to be extinguished, we will not be able to prevent these terrible events from happening.
Mary Lyn Maiscott
New York
Keep Cats Indoors for Their Sake
To the Editor:
Re “The Outdoor Cat: Neighborhood Mascot or Menace?” (nytimes.com, Aug. 2):
The horrors that I’ve seen cats endure cured me of letting them out onto the street, ever. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has come to the aid of cats that have been caught in steel traps, poisoned by bait set for rats, attacked by larger predators, hit by cars, infected with feline leukemia or feline immunodeficiency virus, or deliberately harmed by cruel people. Others have been trapped and sold to laboratories or used by dogfighters as training tools.
Cats that like to be outside can enjoy outdoor sights and sounds from a screened window, an enclosed porch, a custom cat enclosure or “catio,” or a yard with cat-proof fencing, or they may like walking on a harness. Animals depend on us to protect them.
Ingrid E. Newkirk
Washington
The writer is president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the author of “250 Vital Things Your Cat Wants You to Know.”
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