An eminently reasonable and urgent proposal: The President should be charged with felony murder on the domestic front and “crimes against humanity” in international criminal law
In effect, because the President was worried about “panic” on Wall Street* and refused to develop a coherent national public health strategy to fight the COVID-19 pandemic (including, and for personal political reasons having to do with his re-election strategy, deliberately refusing to sufficiently defer to the requisite scientific and medical expertise of public health experts), all the while habitually deceiving and lying to the American people, tens of thousands of people lost their lives and many more experienced a dramatic and unprecedented (i.e., horrific) decline in their basic welfare and well-being (loss of small business, significant loss of income, loss of jobs, housing…). Among other things, this is criminal behavior of the highest (or ‘lowest’) order. In terms of international criminal law, I believe Trump is guilty of “crimes against humanity” (in the Rome Statute for same, such crimes do not need to be linked to an armed attack). (Perhaps I should note the fact that Henry Kissinger has not been incarcerated for at least the last forty years does not bode well in this regard.) In municipal or domestic criminal law he should be charged with criminal homicide: “A person is guilty of criminal homicide if he purposely, knowingly, recklessly or negligently causes the death of another human being.” As to whether this is murder, manslaughter, or negligent homicide I leave that determination to prosecutors, although my layman’s judgment is that it meets the mens rea and actus reus elements for felony murder.
* On the other hand, in cities and suburbs across America, the President’s re-election strategy as ensconced in his historically resonant “law and order” racist rhetoric, aims to create fear and panic among the electorate at the prospect of Democrats winning the Senate and the Presidency.
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