VICTOR JOECKS: Trump’s indictment shows a double standard and his own dumb decisions

Donald Trump won’t defeat the deep state by walking into its most obvious traps.

On Tuesday, Trump appeared in a Miami court and pleaded not guilty to dozens of federal charges involving his handling of classified documents. This is a situation where many things can be true at once. Here’s my take on what we know so far.

1. Dangerous precedent. The Biden administration just used federal law enforcement to arrest the president’s leading political opponent. Whatever you think about the merit of the charges, breaking that taboo is bad news in American politics. Expect Republicans to pursue criminal charges against President Joe Biden and his family once they regain power.

2. Double standard. Reading through the indictment, the parallels to what Hillary Clinton did are striking. She used a private email during her time as secretary of state and inappropriately sent and received highly classified materials. The emails were stored on unsecured personal servers. In 2016, then-FBI director James Comey said, “We assess it is possible that hostile actors gained access to Secretary Clinton’s personal e-mail account.”

Clinton’s team didn’t cooperate with investigators. They used hammers and a software program called BleachBit to destroy some of her devices and delete her emails. Shortly before the 2016 election, the FBI found many of Clinton’s deleted emails on disgraced former Rep. Anthony Weiner’s computer.

Trump is accused of doing something similar — hiding classified information that was requested by federal officials.

In 2016, Comey said that despite the evidence of wrongdoing, “no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.” Further, “responsible decisions” about bringing charges must consider “how similar situations have been handled in the past.”

Prosecutors are treating Trump and Clinton differently. That’s not to mention Biden, who kept classified information in his garage.

3. Disparity evident. The FBI has been slow-walking investigations into potential crimes by Biden and his son, Hunter. The Justice Department wasted no time bringing these charges. You’re allowed to notice the difference.

4. Dumb decisions. Regardless of whether Trump is convicted or exonerated, the indictment makes him look like a dithering idiot. You know the deep state is out to get you and then you don’t return the documents they requested? You lied to your own lawyer? You let yourself be knowingly recorded saying the classified documents you had were secret and that you didn’t declassify them? Really? These appear to be major self-inflicted wounds.

5. Deep state boosts Trump. The irony is that the deep state desperately wants Trump to be the Republican nominee. Democrats know Republicans are likely to flock to Trump in reaction to some of the concerns listed above. They know Biden is much more likely to beat Trump than another Republican. For one, he already did. Felony arrests won’t make Trump more appealing to swing voters. Also, Trump winning the nomination makes the election about Trump, not the terrible job Biden has done.

Republicans rightly want to defang the deep state. But you don’t do that by nominating its preferred candidate. You need someone such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who has a detailed plan to do exactly that.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.