America must prosecute Trump

Argentina put its former leaders on trial. So should America.

In 1985 the people of Argentina did something unprecedented. The country, which had only recently emerged from seven years of military dictatorship, death squads and “disappearances”, convened a civilian tribunal, and put its former rulers on trial.

In his stirring closing remarks at the end of that trial, Argentina’s chief prosecutor, Julio Cesar Strassera, called for life terms and lengthy sentences for all nine former officers, before telling the court:

Your honours, I wish to waive any claim to originality in closing this indictment. I wish to use a phrase that is not my own, because it already belongs to all the Argentine people. Your Honours: Never again!

The hushed courtroom burst into applause, and family members of the victims wept as the criminals who had visited so much misery and cruelty on their country were led away. It was as fitting an end as could be imagined in such obscene circumstances to the first war crimes tribunal since Nuremberg.

It should be taken for granted that I am not comparing Donald Trump to General Videla. But there is a lesson for America in this process. Argentina decided that it was better to face up to what had happened under the regime, rather than try to “move on” through a process of reconciliation or forgiveness. The motivation was justice for the victims, not a quiet life for the living. But there was also no doubt a desire to deter any future attempts at overthrowing democracy. And while the country remains mired in corruption and economic malaise, there has been no return to military rule, and regular elections have been successfully held, all accompanied by the orderly transfer of power.

It will be the role of the Department of Justice to decide if Donald Trump’s obvious desire to disrupt such a transfer of power in the United States merits a trial. For many, including myself, it is abundantly clear that what happened on Janaury 6th was the president attempting to launch a coup in order to overturn the result of a free and fair election.

That the coup failed was down to a fortunate combination of Trump and his team’s staggering incompetence, and the institutions of the republic holding. But we already see the laying of the groundwork for the next attempt. Allies who repeat Trump’s election lies are seeking key positions in states that will play a crucial role in validating the results of the next election. Online and on conservative media those same lies are amplified on a daily basis, polluting the the minds of millions of Americans with the provably untrue claim that Donald Trump won in 2020.

It is unclear whether a democracy can survive if millions of members of one of the two main parties believe that an election is illegitimate unless their party wins. But at the same time, the deranged and conspiratorial thoughts of such people cannot be part of any consideration of whether to put Trump on trial. No matter what is said or proved, they will believe that any prosecution of Trump is motivated by nothing but a “deep state” desire to stop him from becoming president.

For whatever it is worth, if Trump does end up in court, the powers that be should make it as clear as they can that prosecuting him is not about stopping him from becoming president, but for his crimes against the republic. Not only would this be the right thing to do, it would also send a powerful message to anyone of his would-be successors: if you try this again, you too will be punished.

While the convictions in the Trial of the Juntas were soon overturned via a presidential pardon (no doubt in the name of “moving on”), new charges in the 2000s led to reconvictions, and almost all surviving members of the regime either died in prison or are still incarcerated.

But perhaps more importantly there has never again been a serious attempt by the military to seize power in Argentina. Strassera cannot have predicted that when he ended his closing remarks by declaring “Never again!”, that declaration would hold true almost forty years later.

It is time for the United States to tell Donald Trump and his followers: Never again.