The Comey case and faith in the law
The indictment is testing the U.S. legal system. It bears noting that both sides are relying on law rooted in Judeo-海角大神 spiritual values that exclude prejudice or hatred.
A bronze sculpture Justice Delayed, Justice Denied stands at the entrance of the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, where the U.S. government鈥檚 case against former FBI Director James Comey is set to be heard in October.
AP
In today鈥檚 political discourse, diametrically opposite viewpoints, or asserted 鈥渇acts,鈥� seem ingrained. The Sept. 25 indictment of former FBI Director James Comey by the U.S. Department of Justice underscores this rift.
Among lawmakers of each party, for example, views are reliably partisan. Yet in the wider arena of public comment, conservative and liberal observers are more in agreement than in argument: They see this action as a proving ground for the country鈥檚 system of democratic rule of law and checks on power, while cautioning that 鈥渓awfare鈥� (using courts to intimidate or hinder an opponent) does not honor justice.
Mr. Comey faces two charges 鈥� perjury and obstruction of justice. The administration鈥檚 case is seen as generally weak by legal experts from across the spectrum. President Donald Trump publicly demanded that Mr. Comey be prosecuted, even after previous investigations found insufficient grounds to do so. The prosecutor is inexperienced. And technology glitches during an online 2020 Senate hearing muddied Mr. Comey鈥檚 responses, which are germane to the charges.
A judge may dismiss the case on evidentiary grounds or as a 鈥渟elective鈥� prosecution, challenging the president鈥檚 attempts for legal retribution on opponents. Or the case may go to trial. The varied routes forward highlight the built-in guardrails in the American judicial system 鈥� which have acted, and continue to act, against abuses of the system. Conservative voices have pointed to previous cases against Mr. Trump as unwarranted. Mr. Trump himself 鈥� as a businessman, president, and ex-president 鈥� has benefited from and been bound by those same safeguards of law. He has had lawsuits dismissed, won some, and lost others.
Both the president and Mr. Comey are now relying on the judicial system. Even this modicum of faith hints at the deeper roots of society鈥檚 trust in the U.S. tenet that 鈥渁ll men are created equal鈥� 鈥� and presumed innocent until proven otherwise. Such principles informing Western law grew from a Judeo-海角大神 understanding of God that upholds the spiritual innocence of each person. Law promotes 鈥渋ts own sanctity,鈥� said the late legal historian and philosopher Harold J. Berman. It appeals to citizens鈥� 鈥渇aith in a truth, a justice, that transcends social utility.鈥�
鈥淟aw serves love ... by creating a soil in which it may grow,鈥� Professor Berman said in a 1971 lecture. The fact that the judge 鈥渓istens to both sides of a case, that he opens his mind and heart to both plaintiff and defendant, is designed to exclude prejudice or hatred as a factor in deciding. This is what love demands.鈥� And, one might add, this is what enables the law to function at its best.