Josh Marshall had me at Treat Trump Like the Common Perp He Is:
We appear to be moving toward a critical moment for rule of law in the United States, where it will finally be vindicated or a mockery. Unsurprisingly, former President Trump instructed his aides to defy the Jan 6th committee’s subpoenas. The legal instructions were reported yesterday by Politico and the Post. They involve mostly hand-waving with turns at executive privilege, lawyer client privilege and various others. None of these aides are lawyers and they are not the President’s lawyers. Former Presidents have no executive privilege. Or to put it more precisely, executive privilege inheres in the office of the presidency, not individuals. The President is Joe Biden. Not Donald Trump. It’s up to him to make such an argument. Trump can ask.
If Trump asked, I missed it, but Biden made the call that was his to make on Trump administration documents. Trump’s goombahs may have no more luck.
Investigating and prosecuting a sitting president faces a host of hurdles and players. Privileges that attach to the office mean Congress, the Department of Justice and the federal judiciary are involved, as happened in 1974 under Nixon. Trump is no longer a sitting president.
Marshall concludes:
The decision on whether to charge a former President with a crime is a weighty one. The decision to conduct a proper investigation of one is not. There are no excuses this time. Trump is just another lawbreaker and target of an investigation. Vindicate the law.