Politics aside, the slow but steady erosion of respect for state secrets and the uneven prosecution of those who willfully violate long-standing laws governing security of classified material — in particular, the coddling of the powerful and the harsh punishment of subordinates — creates the inevitable extension of our seriously broken system.

In 2003, on two separate occasions, Samuel (Sandy) Berger entered the National Archives in Washington, D.C,. and stole sensitive government documents, stuffing them into his socks and pants.

Two years later, after he left his job as President Bill Clinton’s national security advisor, Berger pleaded guilty to the theft. He was fined $50,000, sentenced to three years probation, 100 hours of community service and denied a government security clearance for three years.

In 2016, a U.S. Navy sailor pleaded guilty to unauthorized use of sensitive information for taking selfies inside a nuclear submarine. The sailor, Kristian Saucier, was sentenced to one year in prison, then home confinement with an ankle bracelet and three years of supervision.

The Berger and Navy sailor examples were violations of the laws forbidding the possession or illegal use of security secrets. In Berger’s case, he was preparing for congressional testimony. In the sailor’s case, he was excited to be on a nuclear submarine and forgot his duty.

In January 2021 — just hours before Joe Biden was sworn in as president — Donald Trump shipped a dozen boxes of classified government documents to Mar-a-Lago. These boxes were then stored in an unsecured basement room allowing Trump aides to access them freely (it’s on videotape). These documents were clearly labeled “Top Secret” (among other terms), some so sensitive that protocols require them to be read, but not removed from, secure locations like the White House Situation Room.

In their search, the FBI listed documents relating to national security, the President of France, even nuclear matters. Obviously, there is no legitimate reason to have this kind of material in one’s home.

Donald Trump has always considered himself to be above the law and apparently thought he could take whatever he wanted after he lost the election, lie to the FBI about it, and not be held accountable. The reality is, the truth is, American citizens have gone to prison for a lot less.

The former president is renowned for his absolute disregard for the rules of law, but this inconvenient fact seems to bother his disciples, including the majority of the Republican Party, not at all. That does not speak well for the men and women who have made a clear and purposeful choice to violate their oath of office, emulating a man who willfully placed this nation (the nation he too was sworn to protect) in extreme danger.

The battle for the soul of the Republican Party is over. The challenges that will determine America’s future, from this point on, continue unremittingly. Trump proved beyond all reasonable doubt how ill-prepared America’s institutions were to deal with an unapologetic authoritarian who, throughout his entire adult life, has believed rules that apply to the rest of us do not pertain to him.

We must not, for any reason or perceived circumstance, out of fear, allow the Republican Party (or anyone) to normalize his criminality.

David L. Snell

Franklin