When a 20th Century US President Prosecuted His Political Opponent
In June 1918, near the end of World War I, the Socialist Party of America’s presidential candidate, Eugene Debs, delivered a scathing antiwar speech to a crowd in Canton, Ohio.
Debs knew that he had to be careful in how he phrased his remarks, noting ironically that “it is extremely dangerous to exercise the constitutional right of free speech in a country fighting to make democracy safe in the world,” a reference to the Espionage Act that had been signed by President Woodrow Wilson the previous year, which made it a crime to criticize the draft.
Though Debs called the idea that America was fighting to make the world safe for democracy “rot” and “humbug,” the word draft appeared nowhere in the speech.
Nevertheless, Debs was arrested and charged with 10 counts of sedition. He was eventually found guilty of incitement and obstruction, and he was sentenced to 10 years in prison. (Wilson had a knack for imprisoning his political opponents.)
The conviction of Debs, whose sentence was later commuted by President Warren Harding, received attention in 2016 after then-presidential candidate Donald Trump threatened to put political opponent Hillary Clinton “in jail” if he was elected president, citing her use of an unauthorized personal email system while she was secretary of state.
“We don’t jail our political foes here like in tin-pot, third-world banana republics or dictatorships,” Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn said.
Though he went on to win the election, Trump’s threats to jail Clinton, fortunately, proved idle.
“I think it would be very, very divisive for the country,” Trump told reporters after securing victory.
Trump’s decision not to follow through on his threat was prudent, even though the FBI had concluded in 2016 that Clinton had been “extremely reckless” in her handling of classified materials and didn’t rule out that laws “governing the handling of classified information” may have been broken.
One of the things that has made America unique is that those in power, since the Debs conviction, have largely refrained from using the immense power of the state to target political opponents and former presidents.
At least, they had.
Last week, Trump was convicted on 34 counts in a New York courtroom, making him the first former president to be tried and convicted of crimes. Trump is also facing federal charges in South Florida; Washington, D.C.; and Fulton County, Georgia.
While it’s true that presidents should not be “above the law,” neither should they be targeted for political purposes. This is not truth, justice, and the American way. It’s closer to the Bolshevik idea of “justice.”
“Show me the man, and I’ll show you the crime,” Lavrentiy Beria, the minister of internal affairs of the Soviet Union, famously said.
If you feel persecuted or are prosecuted give us a call at Winslow Law 843-357-9301.
May God Bless You, Your Business, Israel, and the United States of America,
Tom Winslow
