Jonathan Last sees three options for the Justice Department to act on the January 6 Committee referrals against Donald Trump:
- The government chooses not to prosecute: which incentivizes future attempts to overturn elections and legitimizes the stoking of political violence.
- The government prosecutes and loses: which both legitimizes the stoking of political violence and antagonizes the passions of more than a third of the country.
- The government prosecutes and wins: which creates open season for using the government to pursue political enemies, throws the 2024 Republican primary into disarray, and turns Trump into a martyr for his movement.
His conclusion: “There is no happy ending here, no scenario in which a rough comity returns to our political life. In every path, the danger to democracy increases.”
