Special counsel Jack Smith is determined to take down Donald Trump, even if it requires torturing the law to torch the former president.  Smith accuses the Republican of illegally conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 elections.  If convicted, the don of Mar A Lago could spend the rest of his extraordinarily eventful life in prison.

But, first, there is the small matter of the United States Constitution and the MAGA leader’s right to free speech.  Under the First Amendment, every American enjoys the God-given right to be wrong, crazy, foolish, and deluded, including and especially American politicians.  Case in point: Hillary Clinton.  The twice failed presidential hopeful still blames shadowy and nefarious forces for her humiliating loss to Trump in 2016.

Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz fears that Smith’s zealous prosecution of Trump “nudges the country ever closer to tribalism, chaos and collapse.” Cases involving a former and possible future president should meet what Dershowitz calls the “Richard Nixon Standard,” whereby “the guilt is so evident that even the defendant's political allies — and certainly less sectarian independents—are satisfied that it is fair.”

As for Trump, he sees political gold in them there mountain of charges.  Last week, Trump thrilled supporters in Alabama, boasting, “Every time they file an indictment we go way up in the polls.”  The natural born salesman added, “We need one more indictment to close out this election.”