Before the successes of the Civil Rights Movement, Blacks living in the Confederacy states of the South were apprehensive about their safety. After passage of the Voting Rights Act, lynchings became more sophisticated. The violent conduct of sheriffs and the police was encouraged by many whites and was inflicted across the nation on Blacks. Consequently, Blacks everywhere are now concerned about police violence. While whites in America have not experienced a similar history of violence, it is a wonder that they seem to be undisturbed by Donald Trump unlawfully removing top secret documents from government premises and retaining them carelessly at his Florida home.
There has been no protest that federal district court Judge Aileen M. Cannon has not empowered the FBI to remove the documents to a secure place under federal control. Trump had been ordered on several occasions to return the documents, and he has lied several times that he had surrendered them to federal officials. Justice Department lawyers are concerned that documents are missing from jackets entitled “Top secret,” and Judge Cannon’s order has interrupted the department’s investigative work.
Judge Cannon, a Trump appointment to the court, has inappropriately permitted Trump to appoint a master to review the government’s right to review the government documents that Trump acknowledged he removed from Washington, to determine whether any of his personal property might be included.
Competent lawyers across the country agree that Judge Cannon’s ruling would never be permitted for an ordinary claimant, so it is a violation of the democratic principle that no one is above the law. Since Judge Cannon was born in Cali, Columbia, a country not recognized for its adherence to democratic principles, one wonders whether U.S. constitutional subtleties tend to elude those who mature under other governmental systems.
Until the DOJ recovers all the missing documents and assures Americans that there is no longer any hazard, a sense of insecurity among many Americans will continue.
