OPINION:
“Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret — it only causes harm.” (Psalm 37:7-8)
The Scriptures are the best place to go when something makes no sense — like the unanimous jury conviction of former President Donald Trump.
A friend of mine who is wired into international intelligence added some perspective to the stunning 34-count guilty verdict against Mr. Trump in a New York courtroom on Thursday.
He said many of our allies are looking at the Democrats’ show trials of opponents and the kangaroo court prosecution of the 45th president and are appalled.
The free world has long looked to America for its remarkable defense of the rule of law, which allows property rights, freedom of religion, speech, press and assembly, and reliably fair elections.
My friend said some are actually fearful. They note that one of the constants in this tumultuous world is faith in the United States’ legal system, which has stood as the standard of justice.
“When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers” (Proverbs 21:15-16).
Political enemies are routinely persecuted and denied fair trials in many other countries. Now it’s happening here.
During the Obama-Biden presidency (2009-2017) and since President Biden took power on Jan. 20, 2021, the federal government has gone rogue, persecuting its perceived domestic enemies while giving aid and comfort to our actual foreign enemies such as Iran.
As Attorney General Merrick Garland’s goons went after parents protesting at school board meetings, peaceful pro-lifers and traditionalist Catholics whom they labeled potential “terrorists,” many people shook their heads in disbelief.
Many also could not believe their eyes when Mr. Biden issued a National Transgender Visibility Day proclamation on Easter Sunday or when he deliberately whipped up racial wounds in recent appearances before Black audiences.
“The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men” (Psalm 12:8).
Even the National Park Service got in on the act, barring the Knights of Columbus from holding a Memorial Day Mass at Poplar Grove National Cemetery in Petersburg, Virginia.
The Knights had been doing this for the past 60 years until the Park Service suddenly redesignated “religious services” as “demonstrations,” which are prohibited at national cemeteries.
The absurd, anti-Christian dictate was reversed hours after the Knights filed a lawsuit through the First Liberty Institute, joined by an amicus brief from Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares and public opposition to the policy by Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin.
Think about this one. The cemetery contains the graves of men who died defending the United States of America along with our most basic freedoms. The Democratic-run Park Service ran over religious liberty with a bureaucratic tank.
Yes, elections matter.
Given this kind of overreach, you have to wonder how far Democrats will actually go to impose a Marxist, top-down system on all of us.
“When the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).
We all know that the trials of Mr. Trump in four different Democratic jurisdictions under Democratic judges and by Democratic prosecutors before Democratic juries are the stuff of communist and Third World countries. And it was all cheered on by an utterly compromised national media.
But Thursday’s verdict was still stunning.
“Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and such as breathe out violence. I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living” (Psalm 27:12-13).
As many legal experts have observed, the trial conducted by uber-Democratic Judge Juan Merchan, whose daughter is raising millions off it, has been uniformly unfair, with one-sided gag orders and suppression of defense witnesses.
The appeal writes itself, but the nation cannot wait as the wheels of justice grind slowly through different court levels. Given the gravity of this assault on the legal and political process and on citizens’ rights to choose our president, it should go right to the U.S. Supreme Court.
It’s hard not to get angry watching Democrats who daily show contempt for the Constitution smugly proclaim that the jury has “upheld the rule of law.”
We should pray diligently and work to see justice done here on earth. We should do all we can to save America in November. But we should also take heart in knowing that justice will not be denied forever.
“For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the LORD, They shall inherit the earth” (Psalm 37:9).
And there’s this: “Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:12-14).
• Robert Knight is a columnist for The Washington Times. His website is roberthknight.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.