When Donald Trump announced his bid for the presidency nearly two full years before the 2024 election, a number of factors were reported to have influenced his thinking. He wanted to flex some muscle, capitalize on midterm wins, and confound prosecutors looking to charge him. While these first two might have made sense before last Tuesday, the last was always misguided. Charging a former president is a sticky issue, but according to former US Attorney Chuck Rosenberg, it doesn’t have to be more than that. 

In Politico today, Rosenberg considers the Department of Justice’s options for investigating Trump. As he sees it, there’s really only one: ignore calls for a special counsel and keep doing what you’re doing. Accusations of persecution from Trump will fly, but special counsels are so closely tied to the DOJ that the accusations would fly regardless. This is also the same DOJ that rejected prosecuting Rudy Giuliani — a massive target of the left — on charges of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act, so the persecution label doesn’t quite stick. 

For those who have heard Rosenberg on Julie Mason Mornings, it will come as no surprise that his column is principled and well-argued. He brings his extensive experience to bear in laying out his reasoning, and though some will surely disagree with his conclusions, they can hardly call them uninformed. Rosenberg is the kind of sober-minded, respectful voice we need more of these days. His piece today is proof of why.